Guardians of the Heart
by GalaxyCatNoir
Summary: With Hawmoth defeated and Paris saved, Marinette and Adrien (Ladybug and Cat Noir) have been enjoying the peace that has fallen over their city. But when Adrien goes out on patrol one night, he discovers that Paris has a brand new villain threatening not only Paris, but the world. This is a sequel! Please read Guardians of the Light first!
1. Chapter 1

*Author's Note: Well, here it is! The sequel you have all been waiting for! I am sorry it took so long, but I hope that the wait was worth it. The new villain is a creation all on my own. If the villain happens to be similar to one seen in season 2, I can assure you it was all a coincidence. I will be posting updates weekly. Anyways, enjoy chapter 1 of Guardians of the Heart.

Chapter 1

Adrien opened up the trap door into Marinette's room. He was holding a large bowl with a lid on top and had a smile on his face. She recognized the bowl from Fiona's restaurant and wondered what she had made her that time. Every time they went in to that restaurant she always made them something special, and every time it had been delicious.

"Hi," he greeted.

Marinette sat up despite her achy body. She caught the flu and hadn't seen Adrien in three days. It was practically a crime to be away from him for that long.

"Hi," she said weakly.

He sat down next to her on her bed and set the bowl of soup on her nightstand. She could smell something savory wafting out from underneath the lid. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

"How's my bugaboo? Feeling any better?"

Marinette smiled at his nickname for her. She used to find them a little annoying, but now she found them endearing.

"No," she grumbled. "It's been horrible without you here."

He chuckled. "I'm sure it has," he said. "Just my very presence is enough to cure any illness."

Marinette reached up and smoothed down the collar of his shirt. "Well, I hate to break it to you, kitty, but I'm still sick," she said with a small smile. "How's your aunt coming with the redecorating?"

He shrugged. "Well the office and dining room are completely done. She's almost finished with the movie room. She's having the projector and screen hooked up today."

"It sounds like she's been having fun," she said with a smile.

He nodded. "Yeah. Hey, tomorrow's Saturday. How about you come home with me tonight and we have a movie night, break in the new movie room? It'll make you forget about being sick and get you out of the house."

She bit her lip as she thought about his offer. She so badly wanted to say yes, but their first night together? They weren't going to do anything, but still. It was big for them. She wasn't sure her parents would go for it, but then again, her parents loved Adrien. They would probably be all for it. She almost agreed but then remembered. It was Friday night. Patrol.

She sighed. "I wish I could, but you have patrol tonight."

His face fell at the revelation. "Oh. Right, I forgot," he grumbled. "Tomorrow night then, and I'm not taking no as an answer."

Marinette smiled widely. "Fine. If you insist." She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She might not had been contagious any longer, but she didn't want to risk him getting sick. "Just make sure my parents are okay with it."

"Oh, I already asked," he said with a grin. "They're cool with it."

Marinette closed her eyes as she chuckled. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he said. "Even enough to do this." Adrien didn't care about getting sick. He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. He hadn't done that in over three days.

"Don't come crying to me if you get sick," Marinette said when he pulled away.

"It would be totally clawful if I did," Adrien joked.

Marinette wasn't up to her full strength, but she did manage a light punch to his shoulder. "Will you ever stop making puns? Aren't you getting tired of them after all this time?"

"Come on, Marinette! You know you'd be paw-sitively lost without them."

She rolled her eyes at him, but she was still smiling. "So what did Fiona make?"

Adrien then went on to rave about the ragout Fiona had made for her. It had tender pieces of beef and potatoes and leeks and truffles and a whole bunch more deliciousness thrown in there. She ate it slowly to give her stomach a chance to get used to having food in it. She had been barely able to keep even consommé down the last couple of days. That morning she had been able to eat more solid food thankfully. Even though her body didn't feel better, her stomach was ravenous at that moment.

Adrien hung around for a couple more hours after giving her the soup. He didn't want to leave her, but he had a duty to the city. Hawkmoth might've been behind bars, but there was still plenty of people out there ready to destroy their great city.

He kissed her on the forehead before transforming. She watched with a smile as Adrien turned into Cat Noir. He winked before jumping out her open window. She shook her head at him. Ever since they found out about each other, Adrien had been more Cat Noir like around her, but it was still no contest to how he acted in costume. It had to be part of his superpowers, or it was just a habit he didn't want to break. She honestly would never want him to. She loved both sides of Adrien, and she didn't want either of them to change.

Cat Noir went up to the Eiffel Tower and perched himself as high as he could. He looked out over the city and listened for anything unseemly happening. He knew that his fake tail was swinging lightly back and forth. He couldn't control it exactly, but it was more than just an accessory. It was the same thing with his ears. They didn't function as ears, but they reacted to his real hearing, which at the moment was so acute he could hear a pigeon flap its wings a mile away.

Cat Noir was about to move to a different location when he heard the alarm at the Louvre go off. He jumped down from the Tower and extended his staff down to the ground. He gripped it tightly as he slowed his descent to the earth. He made his way to where the alarm was coming from. It had been disconnected by that point but he already had the location.

Cat Noir had stumbled upon what was clearly a museum heist. That was going to be too easy. He went over to a skylight near where the robbers were. They were near an Egyptian exhibit. He broke the lock with little effort then jumped down to the center of the lobby. He stood up and placed his staff on his shoulders with his arms draped over it.

The robbers turned around at his sudden entrance. They had on black hoodies that completely shrouded their faces in shadow and with his normal sight he wouldn't be able see their faces, but thanks to his night vision he got their faces easily. He quickly glanced around the exhibit and at first he saw nothing stolen.

"You know, if you're going to be cat burglars, you could at least try to act a little feline," Cat Noir said. "I could give you some good cat tips."

The burglars were obviously not amused by his attempt at joking. What did they know? He was hilarious.

The guy who was clearly the leader glared at Cat Noir. "Kill him," he ordered.

"Okay, first off, you've got to be quick," Cat Noir said casually. He easily dodged the attacks of the leader's goons while landing blows of his own. He incapacitated his last attacker then back-flipped and onto a bench. "And light on your feet. Like this, see?"

His opponents were all on the ground moaning and groaning as they were recovering from the beating Cat Noir gave them. The leader pulled out a gun, but Cat Noir wasn't fazed.

"Second tip, you need to be sneaky," he said. Cat Noir jumped off the bench just before the gun went off. He used the darkness of the room to his advantage and ran around to behind the cat burglar. Like a real cat, he made no sound as he moved. Even the bell on his costume stayed silent.

"There's no point in being a cat if you can't be sneaky," Cat Noir continued. His voice echoed throughout the room and the man with the gun shot in a place that was completely opposite of Cat Noir's position. He smiled to himself. When he wanted to he could easily throw his voice.

With the burglar's back turned, Cat Noir ran straight at him. "And three? You pounce when the advantage is yours," he said as he struck the burglar with his staff. He hit him in the stomach then landed another one to his head effectively knocking him out.

"I'd thought this'd be more of a challenge," he said casually resting his elbow on his staff.

"Well it's still early," someone said from behind him.

He turned around with his staff held out. A woman walked out of the shadows. She seemed relatively normal at first glance. She had on simple black trousers with a matching blazer and a dark gray top underneath. Her dark hair was left down and ended in a modern bob. She looked ordinary, except for the fact her eyes were glowing blue. They were literally glowing. It wasn't in the same way his cat eyes were. This was different, and much creepier.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

She smirked. "Someone who doesn't like cats," she said. She held up her hand and lightly flicked her fingers. With the movement Cat Noir got flung across the room until he hit the wall. He groaned as he fell to the ground. That was going to hurt in the morning.

"I'm impressed at how you took out my men," the lady continued. "And you did it with very little effort on your part. I trained them myself, yet you take them down in under five minutes. You are very talented, Cat Noir."

"Thank you," he groaned as he stood up. He retrieved his staff and hooked it back into its holster. "Now what are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "I needed something," she explained. The lady started slowly walking around the room. Cat Noir recognized the movement. She was circling him, and he took it as a threat.

"And you couldn't just buy it online?" he asked her.

"What I need can't be bought," she said with a small smile.

"Uh-uh. So what is it do you need exactly?" Cat Noir asked. She was still circling him slowly. His tail was twitching nervously. It was the only outward sign that he was scared, and he hoped she wouldn't notice.

"All in good time, kitty."

Cat Noir bristled at the sound of someone else using Marinette's nickname for him. He felt like she was the only one who should use it.

"Who are you?" he asked again, giving her a more meticulous glance. He saw a slight bulge in her jacket but he couldn't figure out what kind of object was making it.

She sighed. "I see that Master Fu hasn't been teaching you, or else you'd already know. I am Lillian."

The name didn't ring any bells in his head, though he knew it should have. She knew about Master Fu. He had met him a few days after his father was taken in, except that it wasn't the first time he met him. Once he saw the old man, he recognized him as the same person he helped the day he received Plagg. Master Fu explained everything to him, but he hadn't been teaching them anything.

"You know, that name isn't really that frightening or anything," he said, trying to play down the situation. "The Great and Powerful Lillian really rings a bell and just purrs right off the tongue."

She sighed again and flicked her fingers. Cat Noir got thrown against the opposite wall. He immediately regretted his joke. Marinette told him his jokes were going to get him into trouble one day. He should have listened.

"I see you are a joker," Lillian said. "It has been awhile since one has worn the black cat Miraculous. I forgot how annoying they could be. Anyways, _au revoir_ , pussy cat! I have work to do."

Cat Noir could barely move his arms to sit up, let alone go after her. The police rushed in after a minute. Officers took the burglars away in handcuffs while one of them helped Cat Noir to his feet. He stretched but it didn't help. He just knew he was going to have bruises all over his body in the morning.

"Are you going to be okay, Cat Noir?" Lieutenant Roger asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Thanks."

His body was healing, but it was doing it very slowly.

"Did you see what was stolen?" he asked him.

He raised an eyebrow. "No. What was it?"

"Part of an ancient cypher disk," the curator said coming up behind Lieutenant Rogers. "It was very old, one of the oldest objects here. I believe it to be part of a larger piece. It was on loan from Egypt. When they find out it was stolen we're going to lose half of this exhibit!"

Cat Noir felt somewhat responsible for that, but he couldn't have done anything. He saw the bulge in her jacket and he should have gone for it. He knew she had something hidden on her person, but he had no way of knowing if it was stolen or not. If he did pounce at her, she would have killed him. He would take bruised and battered over dead any day, unless Marinette was in danger. He had already given his life up for her once before. When they fought Timebreaker the first time around, he sacrificed himself for Ladybug. He didn't remember until she used her Miraculous Ladybug, but when it set things right it gave him the memories of the Cat Noir from the first timeline. He had given his life for her once; he would gladly do it again.

After resting for a few minutes Cat Noir left the museum and was immediately bombarded by several news crews.

"Cat Noir! Cat Noir!" they yelled, hoping to grab his attention. That was the first time they had been able to catch him or Ladybug for an interview in weeks. The city had been very quiet since Hawkmoth was put behind bars, so there hadn't been much need for Paris's famed superheroes.

"Cat Noir! Do you know of the connection between the other robberies?" a reported asked. The reporter continued before he could get a word in. "All across France, there have been multiple museum robberies just like this one. Do you know who's behind them?"

He was stumped. He hadn't heard anything about other robberies in the last few weeks, though he knew immediately who was behind them.

"Ladybug and I are working on it," he quickly lied. "Don't worry, we'll figure out who is behind it and put them behind bars where they belong! You're favorite superheroes are on the job!"

He inwardly cringed at his choice of words, but they were the first thing that popped into his head. Cat Noir got out of there as fast as he could. His body was screaming at him to just relax, but he didn't go home. Instead he went to Marinette's. He landed on her little balcony and jumped through the trap door.

Marinette had fallen asleep early that night. That flu was really kicking her butt, so she didn't notice the door to her balcony opening nor did she see Cat Noir walking over to her bed. He sat down on the edge and fell back onto the mattress staring up at the ceiling.

She woke up with the movement of the mattress. She opened her eyes and recognized a familiar figure on her bed. He had only laid down a moment ago, but he looked like he was asleep even though his cat eyes were wide open.

"Cat Noir?" Despite her knowledge of his real identity, it was very hard to not call him Adrien when he was still transformed. She knew it was for the better since the last thing they needed was to accidentally call out their civilians names in the midst of battle.

" _Bonjour_ , my lady," he said, closing his eyes. He was taking in such deep breaths she thought he had fallen asleep.

She sat up and moved closer to him. "What are you doing here?" she asked him in a hushed whispered. Her parents were still awake, and if they found him there dressed like that there would be a ton of questions to be answered.

"Rough patrol," he explained vaguely as he moved to get more of his body on the bed. He ended up with his head in Marinette's lap and his body curled up on the bed.

"Tell me about it," she said softly. Marinette started lightly stroking his hair. She chuckled softly as she heard him purr. It was something she had discovered a couple weeks before. They were out in the park next to her house having a picnic. He had laid his head in her lap. She had started absentmindedly stroking his hair while she read a book; then he started to purr. She found it adorable but he was beyond embarrassed, which made it even more adorable.

"There's a new super villain in town," he said slowly. He sounded like he was about to go to sleep.

"What?" she exclaimed loudly before remembering her parents might hear. She snuck a quick glance to her door and after a few moments she was satisfied that they didn't hear. Her next words were whispered in hushed tones. "How do you know this?"

"She pretty much told me," he said. "Not to mention she threw me against a wall. Twice."

"Was it because you told a bad joke?" Marinette asked with a sigh.

He opened one eye and smiled at her exasperated expression. "The first time no, the second time… I might've joked a little," he admitted sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes. "I told you those jokes would get you into trouble."

"Yes you did, my lady," he said, closing his eyes again.

"Is there a reason you're not transformed back?" she asked. "I'm sure Plagg is just as exhausted as you."

He sighed. "I wanted to talk to you without Plagg making gagging noises every five seconds, but if you insist. Claws in." With those words he was transformed back into Adrien. Plagg flew out of the ring and groaned as well.

"Why'd you wait so long?" Plagg asked as soon as he was out of the ring. "That was a rough one."

Adrien sighed at his Kwami.

"Cheese is in the usual place, Plagg," she told the Kwami.

"Thank you, Marinette," he said.

"Oh, you'll thank _her_?" Adrien asked with an accusing glare.

"Of course!" Plagg said as he went to the small stash of cheese Marinette kept for the black cat Kwami. "She doesn't complain about it."

Marinette smiled smugly while Adrien just sighed even harder.

"So who's the super villain?" she asked, still stroking Adrien's hair. She remembered the first time she first ran her fingers through it. It was their first kiss.

"A woman named Lillian. She knew about Master Fu," he explained. "She said we would know her if he was training us."

"Does she have a Miraculous?" Marinette asked, but she was sure that that wasn't it. All the Miraculouses were safe. After Mr. Agreste was arrested and the peacock Miraculous was found in his safe it was returned to Master Fu.

Adrien shook his head. "No. She had magic though, and her eyes glowed."

"Like yours do in the dark?"

"No. This was… this was different," he said. "It's hard to explain." Adrien slowly sat up. Marinette winced at the sound of his joints popping. He was going to be sore for a few days. "Plagg, have you ever met anyone like this before?"

Plagg looked up from his cheese. "Of course. She's gone by dozens of names over the years, but over the last couple centuries she's gone by Lillian."

Adrien raised an eyebrow waiting for me, but he never said anything more. "Do you mind telling me more about her?"

"I will," Tikki said sleepily. She flew from the little bed Marinette made her and over to them.

"Oh, Tikki, I'm sorry we woke you," Marinette apologize.

"Don't be," Tikki said. "Lillian is a dangerous person, and she needs to be stopped. If she's active again then that means she has something bad planned."

"Like what?"

"She said she needed something, but she wouldn't tell me what it was," Adrien said.

"She doesn't want our Miraculouses, does she?" Marinette asked.

Tikki shook her head. "No, but she does want power. She's looking for something that she lost thousands of years ago."

"What was it?" Adrien queried.

"A jewel," Plagg answered. "A pretty ugly one at that."

Tikki shook her head at him. "It is a jewel," she explained, "similar to a Miraculous, but much older and extremely powerful. Whoever wears it is granted the powers of a god. It's called the Jewel of Rubati."

"How godlike are we talking here?" Marinette asked, but she was afraid of the answer.

"She could destroy the earth with the snap of her fingers," Plagg said.

"So pretty godlike," Marinette muttered. "Good to know, but why would she break into the Louvre? There's no mystical godlike jewels there."

"That's not where the jewel is," Adrien said. "She stole a cypher disk I think. The curator said it was once part of a larger piece."

"The Menes Decoder," Tikki muttered. "Oh no."

"What's the Menes Decoder?" Marinette asked. She held back a cough but it couldn't be helped.

"Marinette you shouldn't be talking about this," Adrien said. "You're still sick."

"I'm fine," she said after a coughing fit. The medicine she took earlier was starting to wear off.

He reached up and brushed back a lock of her hair. "You are not fine," he told her softly.

"He's right," Tikki said. "You need to rest. I can feel your energy, and it is not well. We'll discuss this when you're feeling better."

"No. We need to talk about this _now_ ," Marinette said vehemently. "Sick or not I'm still Ladybug, and Ladybug has a duty to Paris and the world. If there really is a new villain in town who is much worse than Hawkmoth then nothing will keep me from trying to help."

Adrien looked at her with a wistful smile on his face. Even sick she was still strong and fighting. She would go into battle on her death bed if it meant she could help save the world.

"Okay," Tikki said. She knew that her girl wouldn't go quietly. "But if you wake up tomorrow in worse shape, don't blame me."

"Do you know what else she stole from those other museums?" Marinette asked, trying to change the subject.

"I didn't stick around long enough to find out," Adrien said, "but I'm sure a quick internet search will find what was taken."

Adrien got up from the bed and walked over to Marinette's computer. She was glad she had thought to take down the totally embarrassing wallpaper she had on there before. She got red just thinking about it. He pulled up a search engine and typed quickly. She watched silently as his green eyes scanned the screen. It was such a simple act, but there was just something about him sitting there at her desk that made her smile. Some part of her still couldn't believe that he was dating her, and he actually wanted to. She was so afraid for so long that he wouldn't find her interesting or like her enough to date that it was hard to get over it.

"Here we go!" Adrien exclaimed. "I found it!"

Marinette tried to stand up to be next to him, but Tikki pushed her back down. Tikki gave her a warning look that was frighteningly similar to one her mother used to give her when she wanted to have ice cream for a sore throat.

Marinette grimaced but she stayed where she was.

"Looks like the items stolen were just random gold objects," Adrien said confusedly. He leaned back and stared at the screen like it would give him the answers if he won a staring contest.

Tikki flew over to Adrien to look at the screen. Adrien rolled back to give Tikki some room. She typed in a few more things then stared at the screen for a few moments. After a bit Tikki's eyes went wide. "Oh no. I was afraid of that."

"Afraid of what?" Adrien and Marinette asked at the same time.

Out of the corner of her eye Marinette saw Plagg make a disgusted face. He hated when they talked at the same time.

"She's gathering the pieces for the Menes Set."

"The what?" Marinette asked.

"The Menes Set," Tikki repeated. "It's a two piece set consisting of a sextant and a decoder that when used together are used to read the map that leads to the location of the jewel."

"How many pieces does she have?"

"Only a few," Tikki answered gratefully. "There are still dozens of pieces of the set scattered around the world that are much harder to find."

"But she will find them," Marinette said.

Tikki sighed. "Unfortunately, she will. Lillian has unlimited resources, sooner or later she'll have all the pieces."

"Is there anything we can do to stop her?" Marinette queried.

"I don't know," Tikki said quietly.

"Wait, what about the map?" Adrien asked suddenly. "Even with the decoder and sextant, she still needs the map to actually find the jewel. If we can find it before her, and destroy it then all is well."

"The map was lost thousands of years ago," Tikki said.

"That's good, isn't it? If she can't find the map, then she can't find the jewel," Marinette said while holding back a cough.

"Okay, so we just need to find the map before she does and we're all good!" Adrien said with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Oh, and I suppose you suddenly have an ancient map locator app on your phone now?" Marinette joked.

Adrien gave his girlfriend a wry smile. "No, but that still doesn't mean we can't do research of our own," he said.

"How do you propose we do that?" Marinette asked him.

" _We_ are not doing anything," he said. Adrien got up and walked over to Marinette's bed and sat down next to her. " _You_ are going to relax until you are over this flu. Once you're better than you can help."

"I'm perfectly able to help now," Marinette refuted, but a cough ruined her argument. "Some silly little flu isn't going to keep me from helping out."

"Marinette, you've already gotten worse since we started talking about this," Tikki told her. "Listen to Adrien, please. You'll be better in a couple days; you can help then."

Marinette sighed. In a couple days Lillian could have the map and then nothing would stop her from getting the jewel. Marinette didn't say anything to them about this. She was starting to feel exhausted and couldn't handle arguing anymore. Maybe they were right. Maybe she was still too sick for this.

"Get some rest, Princess," Adrien whispered to her. "I'll come back tomorrow." He leaned over and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

"I love you, kitty," she said with a smile.

He smiled back. "I love you, too. Fur-ever and ever!"

She had to close her eyes at the ridiculousness of that pun. She shook her head and sighed.

"Oh, come on. You knew that was coming," he said with a chuckle.

"You're going to be making puns on our wedding day, I just know it," Marinette said before she could catch herself. When she realized what she had said her eyes went wide and she started panicking. "Oh! I-I-I-I didn't mean— I m-m-mean—" She couldn't get out any intelligible words and just kept fumbling over them endlessly. Her cheeks were hot and all she wanted to do was crawl under covers until scientists found a cure for embarrassment.

Adrien was stunned by her statement, but the sound of it was very pleasant to his ears. Adrien glanced at Marinette and he saw the exact moment when she realized what she had said. She was beyond embarrassed. Her cheeks were tomato red and her words no longer sounded like words.

He reached up and placed a hand on her cheek to get her to calm down. "Marinette. Mari, calm down," he said comfortingly. At his touch she stopped trying to talk and just let him relax her. If he hadn't done that she might have gone on for hours.

His smile suddenly got very sly as a thought occurred to him. "And yes," he continued, "I will be making puns." Adrien quickly placed a quick kiss on her lips then left without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ever since his aunt had come to live with him Adrien had been having trouble getting used to the new atmosphere in the mansion. It actually felt welcoming and warm unlike when his father had been running the household. The first thing he saw when he walked in was no longer the dreary portrait of him and his father, but of a warm oil landscape of the tulip fields of the Netherlands. It still made him smile every time he saw it.

"Is that you, Adrien?" his aunt called from the family room.

" _Oui,_ Aunt Kathi," he said. Adrien followed her voice and indeed found her in the large family room. She had a tape measure in her hand and a small legal pad tucked into the back pocket of her jeans. He watched as she measured the distance between the windows then scribbled the number down on the pad.

"How's Marinette?" she asked. Aunt Kathi turned around and pushed her glasses further up on her nose. Her hair had been pulled up into a messy ponytail that day. Some blonde strands that were not quite long enough were falling out and framing her face.

"She's still sick."

"Oh, poor thing. How'd she like Fiona's stew? I'm sure it was a wonderful surprise for her."

Adrien smiled. "She loved it, and she loved the surprise. I really think it helped."

"So will she be coming over tomorrow instead?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. I want her to feel welcome to come over at any time. I really like her, Adrien. She's certainly an amazing girl."

"I know she is," Adrien said with a smile.

"Did you happen to catch the news at all today?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No," he answered honestly. "I didn't. What happened?"

"There was a robbery at the Louvre. These burglars broke in but they were stopped by Cat Noir," she said excitedly. She had never seen Cat Noir nor Ladybug in action. The city had been relatively quiet those past few weeks and the superheroes hadn't been needed. "They did manage to steal one item, that guy must've gotten away before Cat Noir showed up, but he took down all five of the rest by himself."

"Wow!" he exclaimed, feigning surprise. "That's pretty impressive." It really wasn't all that impressive to Adrien. He had fought against more opponents than that. Taking down those burglars were a cake walk for him. It was Lillian who gave him trouble.

"Yeah, it really is," she said. "I'm glad to know that Cat Noir and Ladybug are here keeping us safe from people like them." Aunt Kathi looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. They were quickly broaching a subject that neither wanted to discuss further.

Adrien excused himself to his room. It hadn't been changed at all. Despite his father's glaring flaws, he did get Adrien whatever he wanted, including one of the most comfortable mattresses in the country. Adrien immediately collapsed on it as soon as he walked in. His body ached and it hurt to breathe. He knew that probably wasn't a good sign, but while he still wore the Miraculous he would have some of his superhero powers. One of them thankfully included enhanced healing abilities. Despite his mind going round and round on the subject of Lillian and the jewel he managed to fall asleep just from pure exhaustion.

* * *

Before Marinette went back to sleep she took another dose of the flu medicine. At the very least it would help her with the cough so she could fall asleep easier. It did, though Marinette couldn't stay asleep. She kept waking up but not from the flu. Her mind kept straying to Lillian and Cat Noir. He looked so beat up when he came to her earlier that evening. He had never looked that worn down after a fight. It deeply troubled her. Cat Noir could take care of himself very well, and when the jokes and puns were taken away he was a very capable fighter. To have someone knock him down so easily, and leave him looking like that was rare.

Getting up, and hoping she wouldn't wake Tikki, Marinette tip-toed to her computer. She pulled up the search engine then did a quick search for the Menes Set. Marinette hoped she would find a mention of it somewhere on the World Wide Web.

She scrolled through dozens of possibilities and went back several pages into the search. None of the links she had clicked on were what she was looking for. Finally just before she was about to give up a link on the eighth page caught her eye. It was a thesis paper done by a graduate student from a university in Romania. Thankfully, her browser translated it into French so she could read it.

Marinette printed off the paper so she could read it in bed. She grabbed a highlighter and a pencil to make marks and take notes as she read. The paper had mentioned the Menes Set when the grad student and the professor went on an archeological dig in Kazakhstan. They had found tablets and scrolls that when translated spoke of the Menes Set. Unfortunately they weren't the focus of the paper. It just got a brief mention before it continued on.

Marinette pursed her lips when she finished reading the last page. She had hoped that it would be more helpful but she couldn't expect to get all the answers in one night. Despite that Marinette started reading it again to catch anything she missed before.

Soon her eyes began to droop. She had to force them to stay open. Within minutes Marinette was sleeping soundly with the paper still in her lap and the highlighter and pencil on the floor. That was how Tikki found her the next morning. Tikki was not happy about the fact that Marinette didn't take it easy, but she couldn't be too mad at her. She knew how stubborn Marinette was and should have expected her to do something like that.

Tikki gently lifted the papers off of Marinette's lap and set them on her desk. She read over the notes Marinette had written the night before. Some of them didn't make sense to Tikki and seemed to be written in some form of shorthand, but others were perfectly legible. There were question marks and exclamation points with phrases and words scribbled in the margins. Tikki's eyes went wide as she came across the mention of the Menes Set. She recognized the name of the ancient city where those artifacts were found. She remembered it very well. That was where the sextant and decoder had been broken apart. The paper didn't have any mention of a map, but it was the most information she had seen on the Menes Set in centuries. Tikki caught the name of the professor who led the exhibition and did a quick Internet search for him. He was still at the university in Romania, which wasn't so easy to get to. Then Tikki searched for the graduate student. There was an article on the university's website congratulating her on her job offer at the British Museum in London. Tikki smiled. That was the step ahead they needed to stop Lillian!

* * *

When Adrien woke up he could barely move since his body was so sore. He moved his arm ever so slowly to keep the pain at a minimum. He gently pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"You look like something the cat dragged in," Plagg said from Adrien's desk.

Adrien glared at the Kwami, but he didn't have the strength to make a comeback. Adrien slowly moved his legs and thankfully found them to be in full working order. They weren't in as bad of shape as his torso. He stumbled into his bathroom then took off his shirt to examine the damage. His chest and backside had been painted black and blue by bruises. He had never looked in worse shape, and from past experience he knew they were only going to look worse the next day. Adrien took a couple of pain killers so he could function then got ready. He ran into his aunt on his way out of the door.

"Oh! Adrien, good thing I caught you," she said after bumping into him. "I want to ask you something."

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

"Do you want to get out of the country for a little while?" Aunt Kathi asked. "Next weekend perhaps. I know you don't have school on Monday. I believe that getting out of Paris for a little while will do you some good. I know that you're trying to hide it, but I know this ordeal with your father has caused you a lot of pain."

He was taken aback by her sudden offer, but he was excited by the prospect. Getting out of the country sounded like an amazing idea, but she could not have had worse timing.

"I'll think about it," Adrien told her. "It's sort of sudden."

She nodded. "I know, but I've been thinking about it for a little while and I think it'll be a good idea. Just let me know soon, okay?"

"Alright. I'll see you later, Aunt Kathi."

"Tell Marinette I said hi."

"Will do," Adrien said on his way out. He was glad to not have a bodyguard everywhere he went, though he did miss the Gorilla. He also found himself missing Nathalie at times. She sought other employment once his father's company went broke, and a bodyguard was no longer needed since Gabriel Agreste no longer had any enemies. It wasn't like Adrien needed him in the first place.

Adrien walked the familiar route to the bakery. He smiled as he passed by the park. He and Marinette have had numerous picnics out there. Their most recent one they had both discovered he could purr. He knew he had acquired some cat-like qualities but he didn't know they went that far. He was so embarrassed when he realized he was purring, but Marinette couldn't stop laughing. She now made him purr every chance she got, but he wasn't embarrassed by it any longer.

Adrien came in through the door into the bakery. He knew he was allowed through the house entrance, but he wanted to stop by to get his cinnamon swirl rolls he got every Saturday. Marinette's father already had them packed up and ready for him like he always did.

" _Bonjour_ , Adrien," Mrs. Dupaine-Cheng greeted.

" _Bonjour_ ," he said with a wide smile. He handed her a few euros for the pastries and she quickly gave him back his change. It had become a routine for them. Every Saturday morning he would come in and order the cinnamon swirl rolls then he and Marinette would hang out for the day. Sometimes it was up in her room and sometimes it was out in the city.

"Is Marinette still upstairs?" he asked after he had taken the bag from Mr. Dupaine. It was still warm and he knew this was a fresh batch. He opened up the white pastry bag and the sweet scent wafted up to his nose.

Tom nodded. "She might still be asleep though. The medicine the doctor prescribed has a bit of a kick to it."

"Is it alright if I check on her?" Adrien asked.

"Of course!" Sabine said with a wide smile. "Go right on up."

Adrien thanked them then headed up the stairs. Her parents were right about her being still asleep. She didn't even wake up at his entrance. Plagg flew out of his shirt to greet Tikki warmly. She was the only one that Plagg was genuinely nice to.

After the Kwamis exchanged hugs, Adrien went up to her private balcony so he wouldn't wake his girlfriend. Tikki and Plagg came with him so they wouldn't disturb her either. Tikki filled him in on what Marinette had done the previous night. He knew he shouldn't be surprised by what Marinette had done. She was very stubborn and when it came to helping other people she was virtually unstoppable. Tikki explained to him the paper by the graduate student and where that student was working at that time. She also told him what she wanted them to do.

Adrien couldn't believe the stroke of good luck. He told Tikki about his aunt's offer. She wasn't surprised by his words, but he didn't ask her why. Though Adrien going to London was only half of the equation, the other half was getting Marinette there. It wouldn't be easy to convince her parents to let her go with them. Despite their fondness of him no parent would be very cavalier about their sixteen year old daughter going out of the country with her boyfriend. He only hoped they liked him enough to let her go.

Adrien ate his pastries thoughtfully as he stared out over Paris. He was always jealous of her spectacular view. She got the perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. Adrien didn't have the luxury of seeing it since his mansion was right by it.

"I'm sensing some déjà vu here," Marinette said from behind him.

He turned around and smiled. He went over and helped her up the rest of the way. She looked much better than she did the day before. Her cheeks had some real color in them and her eyes were much brighter.

"We're still missing a few details though," he said with a flirty grin, "like the fact I'm not wearing my devilishly handsome black skintight suit." He bent down a placed a quick kiss on her lips. " _Bonjour_ , my lady."

" _Bonjour,_ kitty," she said with a smile.

"Are you feeling better today?"

"Surprisingly yes. Of course it could just be the meds though."

He chuckled. "Well, you certainly look better."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're saying I didn't look good before?" She asked him with an accusing glare.

"What? No! Of course not!" he said, quickly panicking. "I just meant that—"

Marinette started laughing as he quickly back peddled. "I'm kidding, Adrien. Relax."

"Don't ever do that again," he said with a sigh and a smile.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it," she said while still laughing softly.

"By the way, Tikki filled me in on what you found last night," he said thankfully changing the subject.

"Oh, right. I know you all told me to take it easy but I couldn't let it go. Anyway, I was thinking that if we could get in contact with either this graduate student or the professor one of them could tell us more about the set."

"I already found the graduate student," Tikki told them. "She works in London."

"And I already have a way to get us there," Adrien said with a sly grin.

"Really? How?"

"My aunt. She's offered to take me away for the weekend, and I'm sure it won't take much to convince her to take you with us," he explained excitedly.

Marinette gasped excitedly. "Seriously? That's amazing! Do you really think your aunt wouldn't mind me coming though?"

He shrugged. "I don't see why she would," Adrien said. "She absolutely loves you."

Marinette hugged Adrien quickly, but then let go when a mood killing thought popped into her head. "Wait, Adrien, what about my parents? There's no way they'd let me go, and what about the fact that neither of us speak English?" Marinette caught his expression as she asked her latest question. She pursed her lips as she stared at him. "You speak English perfectly, don't you?"

Adrien smiled smugly. "I learned it before I started learning Chinese," he said in English. Marinette might not speak the language, but she had heard it enough to recognize it.

She sighed but smiled warmly at him. "Show off," she said playfully.

"You know me. I can't resist showing off," he said but that time in his native French.

"Oh, I know," she said with wide eyes. "I remember."

"You still love me though," Adrien said proudly.

Marinette giggled as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "Like I could ever stop."

Adrien bent down and placed a sweet kiss on Marinette's lips.

* * *

Adrien headed home later that afternoon. Marinette would stop by in a couple hours for their movie night. As soon as he walked into the mansion he went to find his aunt. He found her in the family room. She had been busy while he was at Marinette's. There were paint chips taped on the walls and some of the furniture had been pushed aside to make room for the painting supplies. He saw that the windows and baseboards had been trimmed with painting tape.

She was finishing up the trim around the window then turned at the sound of someone approaching. She stood up in a swift movement. Her ponytail was still swinging moments after she had gotten to her feet.

"Oh, Adrien, perfect timing! Which color do you like best?" she asked when she saw him. Aunt Kathi grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the paint chips. She practically had the entire rainbow taped up there.

He shrugged as he looked them over. "Um, I don't know. They all look great. I like that one." He pointed to a bright blue that his eyes wouldn't stop focusing on.

"Blue it is," she said enthusiastically. "Do you mind helping me paint tomorrow?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

His aunt stopped and gave him a look. "Really? Painting this entire room sounds like fun to you?"

"I don't know. They always make it look like fun in the movies." He had never had the chance to paint a room before. He never had the chance to do much of anything before. No matter how boring it sounded he was going to do everything he had missed during his life.

She smiled down at him. "That's the movies, Adrien."

Adrien shrugged. He wasn't going to let her bring down his dream.

"Aunt Kathi, I thought about your offer," he said, changing the subject.

"Oh! Great, so you want to go?" she asked.

He nodded. "I would love to, but umm.…" He reached up and rubbed the back of his head as he hesitated. "Do you mind if Marinette comes with us? She is my girlfriend, and I know that you say you like her but you haven't really spent much time with her. I'm worried that you're just saying that so you don't upset me because of everything with my father. I love her, and I want you to love her too."

Aunt Kathi was taken aback by his proposal. She stood there unmoving for a moment. Then she blinked and smiled. "Are you kidding? Of course it's alright! I would love to have her come with us. As long as it's alright with her parents of course. So where do you want to go? Tuscany is beautiful this time of year."

Adrien smiled slyly. "Actually, I was thinking about going to London. Marinette's never been and there's an exhibit at the British Museum that both of us have been dying to see." From Internet research a couple hours ago they had found out which exhibit the former graduate student had been hired on. It was a collection of similar artifacts found in Kazakhstan and Russia and the northern part of China. They probably hired her because she worked on a dig site where some of the artifacts had come from.

"That sounds perfect!" she exclaimed. "I'll go ahead and get started on the arrangements. Just let me know soon if her parents are okay with it."

"Will do. She was going to ask before she came over anyway," he mentioned. "Do you need any help?"

Aunt Kathi sighed with relief. "Definitely. If you could move these bookcases…" She started instructing him on what needed to be done to make sure the room was ready to paint the next afternoon. He enjoyed himself as he moved the furniture and put tape up on the walls. He knew that anyone else would find it incredibly boring or tedious, but he was thoroughly enjoying it.

* * *

Adrien texted Marinette that his aunt was cool with her coming along. That was one hurdle passed, now for her parents. She was just glad that her flu had all but disappeared. There wasn't any sign that she had it at all.

"Do you really think they'll say yes?" Marinette asked Tikki as she walked to the bakery's front room.

"Your parents love Adrien," Tikki told her. "There's no need to worry."

Marinette hoped she was right. She knew how much her parents loved Adrien, but did they love him enough to let her go away with him for the weekend? She wasn't so sure on that. They did offer to take him in when they thought he had no family, and that was just after a couple meetings. Marinette knew she had nothing to worry about.

Luckily the bakery was empty at the moment. It was in between rushes.

"Mom? Dad? Can I talk to you for a second?" Marinette asked when she walked in.

Her parents turned their attention on her then smiled warmly.

"Um," she started out saying. She had trouble finding the words. That was the biggest thing she had ever asked of them and she was worried they were going to say no. "Adrien and his aunt are going up to London for the weekend later this week, and he offered to bring me along. I know it's a lot to ask but I really want to go. You know I've never been to London and Adrien really wants me to come, so please can I go?"

Her parents were silent when Marinette finished talking. She stood there fiddling with her fingers as she waited for them to say something

"Give us just one minute, sweetheart," Marinette's mother said.

She and her husband went a few steps away to talk privately. Marinette stood where she was waiting anxiously as they whispered to each other. Finally, they turned back around. She tried to see their answer from their expressions but they had their poker faces on.

"You can go," Tom told his daughter with a big smile.

It took Marinette a moment to process their answers, but when it she smiled brightly.

"Thank you!" She squealed. Marinette ran over to her parents and hugged them tightly. "Thank you so much! I love you!"

Her parents chuckled as they hugged their daughter.

"We love you, too," Sabine said when they pulled away. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry. We'll be with his aunt the entire time. There's nothing to worry about," she said with a smile.

"Aren't you supposed to be heading over to Adrien's right now?" Her father asked.

"Oh! Right, of course," Marinette exclaimed. She ran upstairs and packed a quick overnight bag. On her way back down she said a quick good-bye to her parents before heading to Adrien's.

* * *

Marinette and Adrien had fallen asleep in the movie room in a tangle of blankets with empty bowls of popcorn lying next to them. Tikki and Plagg were still awake. Tikki smiled sweetly at the young superheroes. Adrien had fallen asleep resting his head on the top of Marinette's. She had curled up next to his side for warmth. Sitting on their laps was a half-eaten bowl of American popcorn.

"Do you think they can do it?" Tikki asked Plagg quietly.

He shrugged from his spot on the couch. "If they can't do it then no else can," he said. "I believe in them."

Tikki sighed. Lillian hadn't made a move in centuries, and her showing up like that and pulling out all the stops was frightening. She was powerful and could do a lot of damage even without the Jewel of Rubati. With the jewel… Tikki shuddered at the thought. She believed in Marinette and Adrien as well, but a small part of her was afraid even they wouldn't be enough to stop her. Tikki had seen Ladybug and Cat Noir fight Lillian once before, centuries ago, and things didn't end well. She lost her charge that day, they both did. That was the last time Lillian made a move and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost because of it. History said it was an earthquake, but she and Plagg knew the truth. Tikki dreaded the thought of what Lillian would do this time around.

"Tikki, you're being melodramatic again," Plagg said.

She glared at him. "You do know how annoying that is, right?" she asked him. His freakishly feline senses were something that she thought she would eventually get used to, but in over seven thousand years she still found it annoying.

"Of course I do," Plagg said with a smirk.

Tikki rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously, Tikki, you need to relax," Plagg continued. "They are the strongest Ladybug and Cat Noir we've seen in centuries. You need to stop doubting yourself."

Tikki nodded and tried to let her best friend's words comfort her. Plagg could be very comforting when he wanted to be, which wasn't very often. She knew where he was coming from though. They both knew how perfect Ladybug and Cat Noir were for each other. The two superheroes fought perfectly in sync. It was almost freakish how well they fought together. It was like they could read each other's minds. Their connection had only gotten stronger since they found out each other's identities. She didn't want to see that gone forever. Tikki glanced over at Plagg and despite his words she saw his fear as well. As much as they both believed in Adrien and Marinette, there was still a smaller part that felt like something was going to go wrong. It was a feeling neither of the Kwamis could ignore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Nino!" Alya said when she saw her boyfriend Monday morning.

Nino looked up to see his girlfriend running towards him. She was out of breath by the time she reached him. Alya put her hands on Nino's shoulders as she tried to catch her breath.

"You will not believe what I found out!" she said in between breaths.

"What'd you find?"

"There's a new exhibit about to open up at the British Museum," Alya began. "It has artifacts from a dig sight in Kazakhstan and I went through some of the pieces they're going to display."

"And?" Nino urged her.

"They found several tablets with images of a spotted superhero who looks exactly like Ladybug!" Alya said in a high pitched squeal. "She even has the yoyo!"

Nino's eyes went wide with this new information. "You're kidding!" he exclaimed. "And you're sure it's Ladybug?"

Alya nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah! Definitely! There's even a cat-like superhero with her in some of the tablets. This is huge! I posted it on the Ladyblog right before I left!"

"Posted what?" Adrien asked when he walked up to them. They were both surprised to see that Marinette wasn't with him. Usually they met up at the bakery then walked to class together. He was holding a pastry bag from the store though.

"New information about Ladybug and Cat Noir," Alya said excitedly. "You have to read the article it is so cool!"

Adrien raised his eyebrows at Alya. "What'd you find?" he asked as he pulled out a couple of croissants and handed them to his friends.

They thanked him quickly.

"You'll have to read the article!" Alya told him, waving her croissant in the air proudly. "Where's Marinette by the way?"

"I'm here!" Marinette said running up behind her boyfriend. "I forgot my text book. I had to run back to get it."

"Marinette," Adrien said, "Alya posted an update on the Ladyblog."

"What about?" Marinette asked. She pulled out her phone and immediately went to Alya's blog. Adrien leaned over so he could read along with her. At almost the same time their eyes went wide as they read what Alya wrote.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Alya asked them misinterpreting their surprise as admiration and not slight horror. "They're mentioned not just in Egypt but in Kazakhstan! This is so huge! It makes me wonder where else they've been mentioned."

"Yeah. It makes you wonder," Marinette said with a slight daze in her voice. She was still staring at her phone incredulously, but only Adrien seemed to notice.

Marinette's boyfriend gently nudged her to get her to focus. "We should get to class," he said when she looked up.

"Right," she said. She still had her thoughts on the information in Alya's article. She glanced over at Adrien and wondered why he wasn't freaking out about it. It was too big of a coincidence for it to be just that, but as she stared at him longer she realized that he was freaking out as well. He was just doing a better job of hiding it.

All during class Marinette was itching to leave and talk about what Alya had found. What were the odds that Alya's surfing around on the web would turn up a lead similar to one they were following that upcoming weekend? Marinette knew that the student had taken a job at the British Museum, but she didn't remember what she got hired to do. The information on the blog said she was working on an exhibit that featured artifacts from that town in Kazakhstan. Marinette glanced down the row in front of her and saw Adrien on his tablet. He wasn't taking notes. Instead he was on the Internet. She recognized the red and black spotted background of Alya's blog. Looked like he was just as curious as her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Alya asked when lunch time rolled around. "Still feeling a little sick from the flu?"

"Huh?" Marinette muttered. She glanced at her best friend as she began to pack up her bag. "Oh, no. I'm just distracted."

"About what?"

Marinette shrugged. "Nothing."

"Oh, come _on_ , Marinette! I know that look," said Alya. "You used to get it when you were daydreaming about Adrien."

"You used to daydream about me?" Adrien asked with an eyebrow raise and sly grin.

Alya pursed her lips as she remembered that Adrien was still in the room. Marinette ducked her head to hide her blush, but she wasn't sure why. He was well aware of her crush on him, but any mention of it still caused Marinette embarrassment.

"So what got you distracted this time?" Alya asked.

"I was thinking about the trip this weekend with Adrien and his aunt," Marinette answered truthfully. She wasn't exactly lying to Alya. That was what she was thinking about, but Marinette didn't mention what brought on that train of thought.

"Oh, right! I forgot. You two have a romantic weekend planned," Alya said with a glint in her eye.

"It's not going to be that romantic," Marinette argued.

"Well I don't know about that," Adrien said with a smile all too familiar to Marinette. "We'll be in London, second only to Paris when it comes to romance."

"I thought that was Rome," Marinette told him.

"Okay fine, _third_ in the romance department," he corrected. Marinette giggled. "Anyway, we'll be in the heart of London. We can walk along the Thames, stroll through Hyde Park, and go up in the London Eye. I'd say that's fairly romantic."

Marinette knew he was only joking; their real reason for going to London was less than romantic, but the way he spoke made her wish they were going just for fun. She knew that Paris was at the top of the list for creating an atmosphere of romance, but she and Adrien both grew up there. They had acquired a sort of immunity to it. Going to another city and exploring it together sent her heart flying. Maybe once they made their inquiries they could do a couple of the things Adrien had mentioned. She didn't want to leave London without at least making one romantic memory.

* * *

That night Marinette resumed her duties as Ladybug since the flu had entirely left her system. She was glad she was finally able to go out and do something productive after almost a week of being stuck in her bedroom doing nothing besides catching up on homework. She wished she had Adrien with her as she watched out over Paris, but he had been doing her patrol while she had been sick and deserved a good night's rest.

The patrol was an uneventful one, as were the patrols the next two nights. She and Adrien mostly spent the entire time talking as they swung through Paris. He would annoy her with puns and she would refrain from tying him up to keep him from making puns, then of course he would just make a pun about her tying him up. There was no winning with him when it came to bad jokes and puns.

When she arrived back home that third night and took away the transformation she was disappointed by the lack of excitement. After Adrien's patrol the previous weekend she had hoped that they might've run into someone she could fight. At that moment she felt like she was fighting an idea. At least when Hawk Moth was around they had someone to fight. Granted it was always some poor victim of his, but still. They knew what to expect.

Marinette shook her head as she sighed. Was she actually missing _Hawk Moth_? She couldn't believe what she was thinking. Was she going crazy? Did that high fever from the flu turn her brain to mush? It was a possibility, but an unlikely one. Marinette flopped into her desk chair and stared at her computer screen. It was turned off at the moment, and she could see her reflection in it. Her skin was a bit paler than normal, but she hadn't been outside in almost a week. Other than that she looked like she usually did. Her hair was a bit mussed from being out for several hours. She took out her pigtails and brushed through them untangling the knots that had formed there.

She suddenly wondered what would happen if she transformed without her pigtails. Would they still be there, or would her hair stay loose? She knew the transformation did more than just make a magical suit appear. For Adrien several aspects changed. His hair _and_ eyes changed and, whether it was on purpose or not, he did get more animalistic. He preferred to crouch or perch up on railings or lampposts. He tended to run on all fours than on two legs. She had asked him several times why he did it, and he had told her every time that it was surprisingly natural to do it. He never felt the need to do it as Adrien so they both assumed they were qualities that Plagg granted him when transformed.

Marinette jumped when her phone started buzzing. It was a text from Alya; a bit late for chitchat. She had sent her a link to a live stream of some breaking news story. There was another robbery all the way across town. A private collector had a priceless object stolen, but the police weren't releasing what the object actually was. They might tell a certain spotted superhero and her black clad partner though.

She transformed and made it to the scene of the crime within just a few minutes. It was thriving with police officers and news reporters. At the arrival of Ladybug they all swarmed trying to get an interview. She rushed to behind the police line to avoid speaking to the reporters. There was nothing she could tell them that would be helpful at all.

"Ladybug!" she heard Cat Noir call from behind her.

She turned and saw him jump down from a nearby building.

"I knew I'd find you here," he said with a wink. "It's good to see you, my lady."

He went in for a kiss but she lifted up her hand placed her index finger on his nose and pushed him back.

"Slow your roll, _minou_. We have more important things to worry about," she said with a smile. She lowered her arms and crossed them over her chest, just like old times.

Cat Noir just grinned at her. "Oh, I don't know. A public display of our undying love seems pretty important to me," he said with a flirty smile, slipping back into his old ways.

"Cat Noir, you never change," Ladybug said. "Let's just head inside and see what was stolen."

"After you, my lady," he said with a bow.

Together they walked up to the house. Once they were inside a familiar officer appeared with a smile. Lieutenant Roger pulled them aside so they could talk privately.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, so good of you to come," he said.

"As soon as we heard about it we rushed over," Ladybug told him.

"And we thank you for coming. This one might be a little over our heads," the lieutenant said.

"Do you believe this robbery is connected to the one at the Louvre?" Cat Noir asked.

"That's the prevailing theory, yes."

Lieutenant Roger walked them through the house until they reached the scene. In the center of the room there was a wooden pedestal with an empty glass case. The other officers were still dusting for fingerprints and such. It looked like they had just started examining the scene.

"What was stolen, exactly?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. If it was what she and Cat Noir believed it to be then it couldn't be good.

"The owner has a picture. Here it is." Lieutenant Roger reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the photo. In the photo there was a curved, flat piece of metal with symbols carved into it. It was gold, just like the piece of the decoder. It had to be a piece of the sextant. Ladybug and Cat Noir shared a solemn look as they came to the same conclusion.

Cat Noir gently grabbed Ladybug's arm and together they walked to a quiet area of the room.

"This had to be Lillian," Cat Noir whispered.

"She's one step closer to getting the jewel," Ladybug said. "I wonder how many more pieces are left."

"Hopefully enough to give us some more time. Tikki did say there were dozens of pieces," Cat Noir said hopefully. "We just need enough time to talk to that graduate student."

Their trip was only a couple days away. Tikki said Lillian only had a few pieces, and there were dozens of them scattered around the world. Not to mention Lillian still needed the map. Without the map, she couldn't find the jewel. Ladybug and Cat Noir agreed to keep to their original plan to find the map before Lillian could. They could destroy it once it was in their hands.

"We still don't know if it is Lillian though," Ladybug said. "This could be just a run-of-the-mill robbery."

"Yeah, well, a place like this should have security cameras," Cat Noir said, glancing around. "If my house is anything to go by."

"Lieutenant Roger, are there cameras in here?" Ladybug asked, calling the officer over to them.

" _Oui_. They're accessed just right through here," he said, leading them to a room no bigger than a broom closet. Inside there were some small computer monitors showing paused black and white videos. Lieutenant Roger left the room at their request.

Ladybug was about to sit down at the desk when Cat Noir put a hand on her arm to stop her. "I got this, LB. This system is just like the one back at my house," he said with a smile.

She shrugged. It was hard to argue with that, especially since she had no idea what she was going to do. She was just going to wing it. Ladybug watched silently and curiously as Cat Noir typed on the keyboard in front of him. She thought he would have trouble typing with the claws, but he was coping fairly well. A few seconds later a new window popped up on the monitor closest to them. It was showing what Ladybug assumed was the recording of the robbery.

"Alright. Here we go," he said.

He grabbed the mouse and clicked play. He fast forwarded through the first few hours, showing nothing but the room and the artifact. Suddenly there were masked robbers inside. He slowed it down to real time and together they watched intently as the robbers moved with clockwork like precision as they received the artifact. Once it was out of the glass case a woman appeared on screen.

"That's her. That's Lillian," Cat Noir informed his partner.

Ladybug didn't notice anything off putting about her, but it was hard to tell on just a black and white video. She was tall, and looked like she worked in a corporate office or something similar. She looked unassuming, until she looked up at the camera. Even with the black and white video, Ladybug knew her eyes were unnatural. They glowed with power. Anyone else would assume a camera flare, but she knew better. Lillian waved her hand and the screen turned to static.

"I guess that answers that," Ladybug muttered to herself.

"We should get going. There's nothing else for us to do here," Cat Noir said.

He was right, but she didn't like it. She hated not being able to help in some way, but she knew that what they were planning would help greatly. It was just a matter of waiting. They left the mansion to let the police do their job. They were about to head back when Alya ran up to the police with her phone trained on them.

"Ladybug! Cat Noir! Is it true that this robbery is connected to the one at the Louvre and all the others in France?" Alya asked them. "That the artifacts stolen are connected in some way?"

The superheroes shared a quick glance. They both knew Alya would find out one way or another. She was very clever in that sense.

Ladybug stepped up to Alya, ignoring the other reporters looking for an interview. Ladybug always gave Alya special treatment. She knew it was the least she could do considering she wasn't allowed to tell her best friend the truth.

"Yes, we believe them to be connected," Ladybug told her.

"Do you know who's stealing them and why? Could these robberies mean there's another new super-villain in Paris?" Alya asked excitedly.

Ladybug and Cat Noir knew who exactly was stealing them, and they knew why, but they couldn't tell her. Ladybug felt horrible for lying to her best friend. It never got easier, and she hoped it never would.

"We know at the very least that it's the same person," Cat Noir said, taking over for Ladybug. "Sadly, we do not why. We are looking for any connection between the artifacts to hopefully shed some light on the situation."

Ladybug gave her partner a look at another one of his stupid puns, then jumped into the conversation before he could make another.

"As far as we know, this is not a new super-villain," she said. "Paris can rest easy for now."

Knowing she couldn't say anything more, Ladybug hooked up her yoyo onto a nearby rooftop and swung out of sight of the reporters. She wasn't expecting Alya to show up, though she shouldn't be surprised. It was Alya who sent her the link in the first place. If Alya dug any deeper then she could find out about the Jewel of Rubati.

"Well, this has been an interesting night," Cat Noir said when he caught up to his girlfriend.

"Lillian's getting closer," Ladybug stated as she started pacing. "Is this the first piece she's gotten since last weekend, or has she been all over the world?"

"My question is how does she even know where they are?" Cat Noir asked. "It's not like they have tracking devices in them."

"She does have magic. Maybe she casts a spell that reveals their location?" she wondered with a sigh. "This is starting to feel like we're in way over our heads."

"Let's just take this one step at a time," Cat Noir suggested. "We still have the trip with my aunt coming up. Once we talk to the graduate student we'll know more."

Ladybug nodded. "You're right, and there's nothing else we can do tonight. Let's just get some sleep. I'm sure Alya will want to rave about her interview with Ladybug and Cat Noir."

He smiled at the mention of Alya. Marinette's phone was going to be exploding with texts and missed calls when she gets home. Marinette always tried to make up for not being able to tell Alya the truth.

Together they headed back to the city. The superheroes parted ways once they reached the Eiffel Tower. Once Marinette was back home and back to normal, she checked her phone. Sure enough, there were about twenty texts all from Alya and in all caps.

"With every new interview you do with her she just gets more excited," Tikki said with a smile.

Marinette chuckled. "That's because I keep choosing her over the other reporters." She sighed as her happiness for her friend faded. "She's getting closer to the truth, Tikki. If she finds out what's going on, then she will be in incredible danger."

"She doesn't know everything, Marinette," Tikki said reassuringly. "She's only looking for information on Ladybug, not about Lillian or the Set or the jewel."

"But they're all connected to me. What do I do if she finds out?"

"I really don't know," Tikki sighed. "Marinette you're going to make yourself sick worrying. Once you get some sleep you'll be less stressed."

Marinette grimaced, but then started yawning. She didn't even brush her teeth before climbing into bed. Marinette was out within seconds.

* * *

Alya woke up early, too excited to sleep for too long. She immediately went onto her computer and checked the news sites for anything more about the robbery the night before. As she scrolled through the new articles, she kept thinking about how she got chosen over the other more professional reporters once again. Ladybug always seemed to make her a priority if Alya was around. After a few minutes, an update caught her eye. She watched the video with wide eyes. Alya grabbed her phone and bag then ran down to Marinette's house. Her parents waved to her as she ran up the stairs to her best friend's room. Marinette was just starting to put her things into her custom pink and white book bag. She smiled when Alya came in.

"Hey! Did you catch the video last night?" Alya asked as soon as she was in the room.

Marinette smiled and nodded. "Like I would miss out on that? It's amazing that Ladybug chose you," she said encouragingly. "Have you noticed that she does that a lot?" Alya didn't notice the sly gleam in her best friend's eye as she asked that last question. Alya was too busy on her phone looking at the views her video had gotten. It had gotten a few thousand that night, and was up to a hundred thousand that morning. Her blog was becoming exceedingly popular lately, as it should be. Alya probably knew the most about Ladybug than anyone else in the entire city, not counting the superhero herself.

"Did you happen to see what was stolen?" Alya asked, referencing the video she had watched just before she came to Marinette's.

She shook her head. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, they said that it's possibly part of a larger set."

Marinette froze at Alya's words. Her hands stopped midway through packing up one of her books. When she came back to her senses, Alya had continued on with her story, not noticing Marinette's slight distress.

"Yeah. They did a story early this morning about the other pieces stolen, and apparently they seem to be all connected in some way. They all come from the same area and have the same writing on them. The funny thing is, no one has noticed it before! These items were all found at different times. One of them was found ten years ago, and another was found back in the mid-eighteen hundreds. It took these robberies for people to find out."

"Wow," Marinette said, trying her best to sound excited for Alya. On the inside though she was freaking out. "That's pretty cool."

"I know!" Alya exclaimed, not noticing the strain in Marinette's voice.

"You said they all came from the same area? Where exactly?" Marinette hoped she didn't sound too curious, or like she was hiding something.

"Well, they all weren't found in the same area," Alya told her. "Like I said, found at different times and they all came from different parts of the world, but they share the same writing from other objects found in this one dig site in Kazakhstan."

Marinette hoped that she was keeping her face as stoic as possible. She hoped her acting abilities would be good enough to not tip Alya off.

"It's actually the same site that some of those Ladybug artifacts came from!" Alya continued excitedly.

"No kidding," Marinette said, her hands shaking.

"Hey, you and Adrien are going to the British Museum right? Do you mind checking out the exhibit and taking a few pictures for me? I'd love to get some personal pictures for the Ladyblog."

Marinette was lost in her mind when Alya asked the question, so it took Marinette a moment to figure what her best friend had said. When she did she nodded.

"Yeah. Sure, but only if you credit me as the photographer," Marinette said, trying to make a joke.

"It's a deal."

The two girls shook on it then started giggling. Marinette's sounded a bit forced, but Alya didn't seem to notice, for which Marinette was glad. It was going to be only a matter of time until Alya learned about what the pieces were actually for, and then she would find out about Lillian. Marinette walked behind Alya as they left the bakery. Tikki perked up out of Marinette's bag and the two of them shared a very worried glance.

Adrien and Nino were already at the school. Once they were in sight Alya broke into a run and almost ran into the boys. She gripped Nino's arms tightly as she started to tell him what she had just told Marinette a moment ago. Adrien listened on with casual interest until Alya got to the real gist of the story. He straightened up and his green eyes went wide. Nine gave him a glance, but quickly shook it off. Nino was used to Adrien acting oddly. It was one of their quirks to their friendship. He never questioned Adrien's odd behavior.

Marinette went up to Adrien and quickly slipped her hand in his. "If you two will excuse me I need to talk to my boyfriend for a moment," she said. Neither Alya nor Nino argued. Marinette gripped his hand tighter then pulled him away to behind a tree so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Was she really telling the truth?" Adrien asked. "Does she know that those items are connected?"

Marinette nodded. "She knows more than that. She knows that they're from the same sight as those Ladybug artifacts in the British Museum. In fact she wants us to take pictures for her when we go to London."

"Are you going to?"

"Of course I'm going to! She's my best friend," Marinette said obviously. "I just wish she would stop investigating. Anymore digging and she's going to get herself into danger."

"Sounds like you need to plant some false evidence," Plagg said, flying out of Adrien's shirt.

"No, Plagg! That is exactly what they don't need to do," Tikki said, appearing in front of the black cat Kwami. "What if Alya were to find out? Then she'd be mad at the two of them, but then she'd also double her efforts to find out the truth."

"Tikki's right," Marinette said. "Leaving her a false trail would only make things worse. We shouldn't worry about her."

"Easier said than done, isn't it, Princess?" Adrien asked with an upraised brow. He had a strong feeling that she had been worrying about since she came to the crime scene the night before. Adrien always had a sense when she was worried about something. He just wished there was something he could do.

"Let's just go to class, kitty," Marinette said. "School's about to start in a couple minutes."

When they walked into class, Marinette and Adrien tried their best to not show their fear and worry to their best friends. If either of them found anything off about the young superheroes' expressions then there would be a million questions and neither would know how to answer them.


	4. Chapter 4

***** Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! This chapter is my favorite thus far because I too have recently visited London. All the sights and experiences Marinette and Adrien do I have done as well. Their reactions are my own, so this chapter is very personal to me. And if you like it, please favorite or follow, or even leave a review! Enjoy Chapter 4!

 **Chapter 4**

Marinette heard her alarm go off, but since it was four fifteen in the morning she turned it off and rolled back over. She would've fallen back asleep if Tikki hadn't pulled down her covers and reminded her what the day was. Despite the knowledge she was going to be in London in a few hours, Marinette still didn't feel awake. She dragged herself out of bed and took a quick, cold shower hoping it would awaken her senses.

Marinette dressed in clothes good for traveling then double checked her duffel bag to make sure she had everything she would need and double checking that she had her passport. Her parents were awake when she went downstairs. They hugged her for several long minutes until there was a knock at the door. Her father opened it revealing Adrien and his aunt Kathi. Kathi was bright-eyed and bushy tailed while Adrien looked like he was about to fall asleep any second. Marinette chuckled at his state. He must've gotten less sleep than her. Aunt Kathi and Marinette's parents spoke for a few more minutes, going through the schedule and telling them generally where they'd be. Tom and Sabine, despite their excitement for their daughter, were still apprehensive about their daughter going away. Marinette promised she would call them twice a day to check in before her parents would let her go.

The events leading up to the train were a sleepy blur to the superheroes. Once on the train, Marinette and Adrien took two seats together while his aunt grabbed one in the row in front of them. Adrien took the window seat and Marinette took the aisle. The two of them chatted easily while waiting for the train to depart, but once it got out of the city their conversation started to fade. They were both feeling the effects of waking up that early.

The first leg of their train ride was uneventful, but Marinette did enjoy seeing France in the early morning hours. It was calm and quiet and peaceful. To Marinette it felt like a whole other world, one that couldn't possibly have the looming danger of the end of the world hanging over their heads. Adrien had fallen asleep as soon as the train hit the countryside. He was sound asleep next to her. She heard a faint snore, but it wasn't from Adrien. She bit back a smile when she realized that it was Plagg. The little Kwami was curled up on Adrien's shoulder nestled up to his neck like a normal cat would do. Marinette shook her head and smiled. Those two were made for each day other, she thought to herself.

Once the train went down into the Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel as she was told, Marinette fell asleep. There were no more beautiful landscapes to keep her mind awake so she started to doze off.

Adrien hadn't noticed he had fallen asleep. One second he was staring out the window watching the sunrise the next he was waking up to the sight of concrete walls. It took his waking brain a moment to realize he was down in the tunnel. He felt Plagg nestled up against his neck and rolled his eyes. He was snoring softly in his ear, but he was used to that. He fell asleep to that sound almost every night. What he wasn't used to was Marinette sleeping against his side. Before the train departed they had lifted up the arm rest between them. Marinette had moved so she was resting against his side slightly curled up. She had been staring out the window before he had fallen asleep. He smiled down at her, at the fact she was completely curled up against him, and she called _him_ a cat.

Marinette didn't wake up until the train came out of the tunnel. She had woken up next to something very warm and when she realized it was Adrien her cheeks turned pink. He had woken up sometime before her, but he didn't notice that she was awake. He was on his phone, but Marinette couldn't see what he was doing.

"What is that?" she asked sleepily.

Adrien jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. He had gotten used to the silence and wasn't expecting her to wake up for a little while longer. Marinette chuckled at his reaction as she sat up.

Adrien nodded. "A book," he said with a smile. "It's a new series. I rented the e-book to see if I like it before I buy a hard copy."

"Do you like it?"

He shrugged. "It's too soon to tell. I'm only on chapter three."

Marinette smiled. She sat up and stretched then looked out the window. Her eyes widened when she saw that they were out of the Chunnel. They were actually in England! She was in another country! It looked so different and strange that it fueled her excitement.

"How far are we from London?" she asked.

"Another hour and we'll be there," he said.

Marinette couldn't wait to reach the city. She didn't care that their reasons for coming were not for fun or leisure. The excitement of leaving Paris and going to another city was enough to drown out her worry about Lillian.

At Kings Cross, Marinette was like a kid in the candy store. After a quick passport check they were free to go wherever they wanted. Marinette looked around at the train station. She couldn't quite believe that she was there. Her feet were standing on a different country. She didn't understand a single word that anyone was saying, and she didn't care.

"You look like you've just seen your first rainbow," Adrien joked.

She lightly nudged him with her elbow. "Give me a break! Let me have this moment," she said.

"You heard her, Adrien. Let her have a moment to absorb all this," Aunt Kathi said, taking Marinette's side. "How about we go check out the shops before we check in to the hotel?"

The amount of stores in the station were equal to that of a major airport. Marinette and Adrien visited about half of the stores in the station. Neither of them bought much. The real fun started when they reached the _Harry Potter_ shop. Aunt Kathi had to almost drag them away from the replica wands when it came time to check in to their hotel. It wasn't far from the station, just a quick cab ride from King's Cross Station.

They checked in and after dropping off their bags in the room they headed out to their first sight-seeing destination. Aunt Kathi took them to the British Museum first. It was the closest to their hotel so it seemed fitting to do it first.

As they stood in the short line to get in, Adrien and Marinette wandered gazed up at the Greek-esque building before them. There was a Pantheon in Paris, and she had seen it several times, as had Adrien, but this was something else. This building was bigger. The Greek columns in the front, she believed were called a colonnade, had to be a meter in diameter. The carvings in the pediment were expertly done. It was hard for Marinette to believe this building was only a couple hundred years old. It seemed like it had jumped right out of Ancient Greece.

Once inside, the grandeur of the building continued. High above was a glass and steel ceiling illuminating the stark white of the Great Room. They collected museum maps, and for a little while they were regular museum goers. The first artifact they saw was the Rosetta stone. She and Adrien took turns taking photos with it, feeling like real teenagers for the first time in a long while.

Aunt Kathi trailed along after the teenagers as they explored the artifacts and exhibits on the ground floor of the museum. Those two were incredibly enthusiastic about the museum. She had never seen two teenagers that enthused about history. If they were that intrigued about history, she wondered how they would be at the other sights she planned for them to see.

After spending a good hour and half exploring exhibits on the ground floor, they headed up to the upper level where the exhibition containing the Ladybug tablets was supposed to be. Since it was brand new it was a bit crowded, but they were able to move around fairly easily. Marinette found one of the tablets that contained a picture of a spotted hero. She was more than intrigued as she looked it over. The picture of the spotted hero was similar to the one on the papyrus from Egypt. The hero had a yoyo and was wearing a polka dot outfit. She looked at other hieroglyphics on the tablet and saw someone that reminded her of Cat Noir. He had cat ears and a tail and was holding a staff.

She took a photo of the tablet, and of the other tablets around the exhibit. They all seemed to be telling a story, but Marinette couldn't figure out what. It wasn't in order that was for sure. She knew Tikki had taken to popping her little red head out of her bag every few minutes, but that was all she could do without exposing the red Kwami. There were too many people around.

"This doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know," Marinette whispered to Adrien.

He nodded. "I know. Let's go see if we can find the graduate student. What was her name again?"

"Amelia Cretu. But wait, what about your aunt?"

Adrien glanced over at his aunt, who was gazing at one of the informational displays by one of the tablets. He walked over to her and said, "Hey, is it alright if Marinette and I go explore on our own?"

She seemed hesitant to answer. Finally, she said, "As long as you both stick together. We'll meet down in the Great Room in one hour. The bookshop sound good?"

He nodded. "One hour. We'll see you then!"

Marinette and Adrien left the exhibit and found the nearest museum employee. He was walking around giving some information about various artifacts to anyone who asked. He looked young, maybe another graduate student.

Marinette hung back while Adrien spoke to the employee. She couldn't join in on the conversation even if she wanted to. She listened to Adrien speak in perfect English as he asked where Amelia was. The employee, as far as Marinette could tell, seemed very helpful. She let out a sigh of relief when Adrien smiled, and the employee gestured for them to follow him. That was easier than she thought it would be.

He led them out of the exhibit and down to the ground floor. He brought them to a doorway that was marked "Employees Only." Once inside, Marinette noticed that it seemed to be just offices. Most of the doors were labeled with names, but others were probably used for archives or something similar.

He finally stopped at a door that had several names on it, one of which was the name of the graduate student they wanted to talk to. Adrien and Marinette walked inside and saw that it was a large shared office. There were five large desks, but the room could easily fit three more and still have room for table tennis.

Amelia Cretu was at a desk on the far side of the room. On the cork board next to her she had tacked pictures of what the superheroes assumed were of her friends and family. The other pictures were taken at a dig site with other team members.

Amelia looked exactly like her picture. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a chignon and she was wearing a light gray cardigan over a simple purple blouse. She was typing away at her computer and didn't look up until the museum employee who brought them there announced their presence. After a few words in English by the employee Amelia stood up and smiled at Marinette and Adrien.

" _Bonjour_ ," Adrien said. After that he went into English so Amelia would understand. Marinette stood back feeling a bit awkward. She needed to learn another language so she wouldn't feel as left out.

"I'm Adrien and this is Marinette," Adrien continued in English. "You are Amelia Cretu?"

She nodded. "Yes," she said, also in English, but with a Romanian accent. Luckily, Adrien had been speaking English long enough to understand her perfectly. "What can I help you two with?"

Adrien smiled. "We came to ask you about the site in Kazakhstan."

Her smile faltered at his words. "What about? It was just a normal site. Nothing strange happened."

"We want to ask you about the artifacts that were found," he explained.

"If that's all you wanted to know, then you can go up to the exhibit," Amelia said. "Everything you need to know about that site is up there." Marinette had no idea what they were saying. She recognized a few words but the conversation was going too fast for her to make anything of it, but she did notice when Amelia started looking shifty. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, not yet.

"We've looked at the tablets, but there's no description of what is being said," Adrien explained. "All we know is that they are about Ladybug and Cat Noir."

Marinette recognized their superhero names. She bit her lip, hoping that Adrien wasn't going to get them into trouble. He was prone to bad luck with the black cat Miraculous on his finger. She hoped her tendency for good luck would be enough to outweigh it.

Amelia shrugged. "That's because the translations are still on going. It takes time to decipher those hieroglyphics… Adrien, wasn't it?"

Adrien's senses were being kicked into overdrive. He knew she was hiding something, but what was it?

"Do you have any idea of what they say? Even just an overview?" Adrien probed.

She shook her head. "No. I'm afraid not," Amelia told him.

Adrien noticed that Amelia was a very bad liar. She knew what they said, but she wasn't telling him. Why was she not telling him?

Marinette brushed her fingers against Adrien's arm to get him to look at her, and then she asked him, "What is going on?"

He quickly gave her an explanation of what had been said. He explained to her that he felt like she was hiding something, and Marinette had noticed the same thing. They were starting to slip into their superhero habits as they mulled over what to do.

"Adrien, ask her if there was anything else found there besides the tablets," Marinette quickly suggested.

"Why?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Well, maybe there's something not on display yet that could be useful," Marinette said.

Adrien nodded and turned back to Amelia who was staring at them curiously. She didn't speak French, so their entire exchange was lost on her.

"Amelia, was there anything else interesting found at the site?" Adrien asked. "Maybe a broken tablet or a carving or something?"

Both Marinette and Adrien noticed how Amelia stiffened up and bristled at Adrien's question. That was a giant red flag. Marinette raised an eyebrow at that reaction. It was definitely not something she was expecting, but it told her that there was something else found there.

"I'm sorry, what did you say this was for?" Amelia asked them, getting a little defensive. "I don't believe you said."

With that Adrien was stumped. They had never thought of a cover story for their visit. Honestly, neither of them thought they would need one.

"I think you two should leave," Amelia said in a hard voice.

"No, wait! Please! Just wait," Adrien pleaded. "Just tell us what else was found and we'll leave…. Please."

Amelia was hesitant to say the least. She was fidgety and uncomfortable.

"I can't," she finally whispered.

"Why not?" Adrien asked.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just can't. Now go before I call security."

Adrien pursed his lips and sighed. "Fine. We'll go."

He reached over and grabbed Marinette's hand.

"We have to leave," he said to Marinette, slipping back into French.

"Why?" Marinette asked. "What'd she say?"

"I'll tell you later," he said.

They left her office and headed back out to the Great Room. They still had a half hour until they had to meet his aunt, but neither of them felt like exploring anymore. Instead, they went into the gift shops tucked underneath the Reading Room that sat in the center of the Great Room. Even though they tried to focus on the souvenirs and trinkets, their hearts weren't in it. When it was time, they walked around the circular structure to the bookshop. Aunt Kathi was there flipping through a copy of Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_.

"Did you two have fun?" Aunt Kathi asked when they walked up to her. She put the book back on the display.

Marinette and Adrien smiled easily. They showed no sign of what had just happened to them.

" _Oui_ ," Marinette. "It was a lot of fun."

"Wonderful! Now, how about some souvenirs?"

Aunt Kathi bought them some trinkets from the Museum, including a couple of key chains and some postcards. After that, they headed out for food. They were able to find a restaurant within minutes of leaving the museum. It was a simple chain restaurant, apparently popular with the locals, but it still had the typical British foods. Feeling adventurous, Marinette ordered a British pie filled with steak and ale gravy while Adrien and his aunt went classic and got the fish and chips.

After the hearty British food the three of them headed back to the hotel. They were all exhausted from waking up early and the long train ride up there. It was starting to get dark, and none of them were in the mood to do much sightseeing.

Marinette had her own room, but it was connected to Kathi and Adrien's room so all they had to do was leave the door open between them. Marinette went into their room and together they watched some movies on a French channel Kathi had found.

Marinette and Adrien watched the movies, but neither of them could really pay attention to what was going on. Both of them had their minds on Amelia Cretu and what she was hiding from them. They hadn't had much of a chance to talk about what happened back at the museum. The only conversation they've had on the subject was Adrien telling Marinette exactly what had happened. Beyond that, they hadn't spoken a word about it in fear that Aunt Kathi might overhear. They were both sure of what they needed to do though. All they had to do was to wait until Adrien's aunt fell asleep. The superheroes transformed and then went up onto the roof of the hotel.

Cat Noir had seen the view before, but she hadn't. He stood back and watched as Ladybug walked forward, staring in awe at the view in front of them. He smiled as he watched her take in the skyline of London.

Ladybug stared in wonder at the view of London. From the hotel roof she could see all the iconic London landmarks, and since it was night they were all lit up magnificently. The London Eye was lit up in bright, deep blue that contrasted with the night sky. Big Ben had green lights shining on it, and the sky scrapers were bright white and twinkling. The entire sight was full of golden light and color.

"It's so beautiful," Ladybug whispered.

"Yes you are," Cat Noir said.

She wanted to play off his little flirt like she normally would, but it was so sweet that she only blushed.

"Come on, Cat. Let's go figure out what Amelia's hiding," she said, getting them back to the matter at hand.

They ran through the unfamiliar streets of London, staying out of sight of anywhere the general public could be. No one needed to know that they weren't in Paris. The rumors and speculation around them would be outlandish, but many of them would be too close to the truth.

The superheroes arrived at the museum in no time at all. They walked around the building and found the window where Amelia's office was located. The light was still on and shining. Through the shades they could see at least one figure moving around. The found a good spot where they could watch what was going on inside. Behind them were the buildings that lined the street. One of them was a hotel, others were residences or buildings. All that mattered was they were hidden from view.

"What is she doing here so late?" Ladybug whispered. She pulled out her yoyo and flipped it up to get to the screen. She zoomed in so she could see what was going on inside. Amelia wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. She was at her desk typing stuff, looking at binders, writing things down. She wasn't doing anything that would be considered suspicious.

"She probably has a deadline to finish," Cat Noir muttered. Maybe they had looked too deeply into Amelia Cretu. They could've been overthinking the situation with her earlier that day. Of course that didn't explain his animal instincts going into overdrive.

"Or maybe she's waiting on someone," Ladybug said. She had noticed Amelia glancing nervously towards the door.

"But who?" Cat Noir asked. "Her boss? Someone else?"

He paused and his eyes glazed over as he went over the possibilities in his head.

"Lillian," he finally whispered.

Ladybug's eyes went wide at his suggestion.

"Of course," she muttered. Ladybug sighed and put her head in her hands. After a moment she lifted her head and aimed her yoyo's screen at the office once again. "She beat us to it. Whatever else was found there, Lillian got to it first."

"The map," Cat Noir stated.

"Most likely."

"That was our only way to stop her," he said.

"We still don't know what's happened," Ladybug reminded him, but it was mostly to remind herself. That map was the one thing that gave them hope in stopping Lillian. If Lillian already had it in her hands, then there was nothing else they could do. The superheroes couldn't locate any of the pieces in time. They didn't even have the resources to even begin to look for them.

"Maybe it's not the map," she continued. "It could be just another piece of the sextant. Or maybe the decoder. We still don't know."

The superheroes continued watching the screen for a few more minutes, and they were about to leave and try again the next night when the air in the space next to Amelia's desk started to shimmer and spark. Cat Noir and Ladybug gasped as Lillian appeared in a flash of blue light. Amelia wasn't surprised by her sudden appearance, leading the superheroes to believe that Lillian was the person she was waiting for. They looked at each other gravely. They knew what was going to happen.

* * *

Amelia kept watching the clock nervously. Once those two kids had left she sent a message to Lillian, just as she was told to do. She was told to contact her if anyone came asking about what was found at that dig site. Amelia never thought it would happen. During the first few weeks after her encounter with the strange woman Amelia was fidgety and nervous. Every person she spoke to she suspected wanted to talk about the site and what was found there. Then the weeks went by and her mind started to calm. She thought that no one would ever come to ask her about it, but she was wrong.

She noticed when the air started to shimmer and spark, telling her that Lillian was about to arrive. Amelia took in a deep breath just before Lillian appeared. Amelia stood up and composed herself so she didn't reveal how scared she was on the inside.

"I got your message," Lillian said immediately, talking in Amelia's native Romanian. "Someone was asking about the dig site?"

Amelia nodded. "Yes. Two kids both from France. Why would they be interested?"

Lillian raised an eyebrow at Amelia's question. "What did they look like?"

Amelia thought back to that afternoon. "They were around fifteen or sixteen. One was a boy with blonde hair. He was kind of tall. The other was a girl. She had black hair tied in pigtails. She looked at least part Chinese."

"Just as I thought," Lillian said, not the least bit surprised by Amelia's descriptions.

"Who are they?"

"Not your concern," Lillian told her. "Thank you for telling me."

"Wait, before you go, what's so important about what was found?" Amelia asked. "You never told me."

Lillian smirked. "Did you ever think there was a reason for that?"

"I know, but it was just a piece of old parchment," Amelia continued. "It didn't even have any words on it. It was blank."

"Maybe to you, but not to me."

Lillian glanced out the nearest window with an inquisitive expression. It passed after only just a moment, but it was long enough for Amelia to notice.

"Good bye, Amelia," Lillian said with a small, secret smile. In a flash of blue light she was gone.

Amelia turned around and glanced out the window. The shades were closed, but she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine. Lillian had glanced out there as if she could see someone or something out there. Ever since Amelia felt like she was being watched.

She went out to the window and pulled up the shades. She cupped her fingers around her eyes and peered out the window. She thought she saw something run away, but it was probably just a cat. She could've sworn she something that looked like a tail.

Amelia went home soon after her encounter with Lillian. She was edgy and shifty her entire way home. The streets were empty, yet she felt like eyes were on her everywhere. Amelia was relieved when she made it into her apartment. She rushed in and shut the door, leaning against it with a sigh. She locked the deadbolt and put the chain in place. She relaxed once it was in its holder.

* * *

The yoyo and the staff had a translation module in them, so they were able to catch the entire conversation between Amelia and Lillian. It scrolled across their screens like subtitles on the television.

"It was the map," Ladybug muttered.

"Not only that, but now Lillian knows it was us who asked about it," Cat Noir said.

She glanced over at her partner. "Do you think she knows our secret identities?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past her." His cat eyes flickered up the window just before Amelia lifted the shades. "Quick, duck!"

The superheroes dodged out of sight of Amelia's office window. They headed up to the roof of the building so they wouldn't risk being noticed. Cat Noir sat down on a nearby ledge, watching Ladybug pace back and forth across the roof. His only movement was his eyes following her.

"What are we going to do, Cat?" Ladybug asked, but he was sure she was asking it rhetorically. "Lillian has the map. There's nothing we can do. We lost."

"We haven't lost," Cat Noir assured her. "She doesn't have the jewel yet."

Ladybug stopped pacing and faced her boyfriend. "She might as well have the jewel! There's no way for us to stop her! We don't know where the pieces are! There's nothing for us to do! We're out of options. This entire trip was a waste."

"Maybe there's another option," he suggested, but he was grasping at straws. He scrambled his brain for anything that could help them. His mind went to the conversation he had with Amelia. He had been so focused on the map situation lately that he had forgotten about something else Amelia had lied to them about: the tablets!

"She's leaving," Ladybug said. She saw Amelia walking down the road running next to the museum.

"We should follow her," Cat Noir said, coming to stand next to the spotted superhero.

"Why?"

"So we can talk to her about the tablets," he continued. "She lied about not knowing what was on them. Maybe she'd be more willing to tell a certain pair of superheroes." He wagged his eyebrows and smiled slyly.

"You forget, _minou_ , I still don't speak English!" she reminded him.

"Fine, _I'll_ go talk to her."

She put a hand on his arm to stop him. "I don't think that's such a good idea," Ladybug said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"She might get a little suspicious, don't you think? Two French kids show up asking about the Ladybug and Cat Noir tablets, then all of a sudden Cat Noir shows up asking about them? She'll definitely notice a connection."

"I think it's a risk we should take," he said. "We have to know what's on those tablets. Besides, we didn't even know who we really were, and we saw each other literally every day."

"You really think it's worth the risk," she said, not sure if she was asking or stating it.

" _Oui_."

"Then let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

***Author's Note:** Hey everyone, sorry for the slight delay. I'm working on a paper due next week and I forgot to post it at my usual time. But hey, better late than never, right? Hope you enjoy chapter 5!

 **Chapter 5**

They caught up to Amelia easily. They ran across the rooftops staying out of sight of Amelia, but making sure they still had an eye on her. Cat Noir led the way since he was able to see her more easily. The superheroes followed Amelia for almost fifteen minutes until she reached her apartment building. It was a four story building, just like all the others on the street. It was attached to the buildings around it, similar to how they buildings were in Paris, except the façade and architecture was entirely different. Her apartment was on the top floor. Cat Noir climbed up and easily made his way inside. Most people didn't lock their windows on higher floors. She wasn't the exception.

He gave the apartment a quick glance. It was small, but well-kept. The décor was an eclectic mix of different styles, but it all worked together. Amelia was just sliding the chain lock home when he entered the apartment.

"Bonjour, Amelia," Cat Noir said.

She turned around and said a word that wasn't in English, but he assumed it was probably a Romanian curse word. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Cat Noir standing in front of an open window.

He waited for her to speak, but she seemed to be in shock.

"I heard about the tablets at the museum," he said in English. "I know that you were there when they were found. I was hoping you could tell me what they say."

His words seemed to snap her out of her shock. "Well, they're about you, shouldn't you know what they say?"

He shrugged. "I live a very full life. I can't remember everything," he said with a smile. "I don't even remember what I had for breakfast."

"Well, I'm sorry, Cat Noir. I don't know what they said," Amelia told him. His instincts went into overdrive at her words. She was definitely lying about the tablets. He knew for sure then.

"I can tell when people are lying. It is one of my best talents."

She sighed and seemed to let down her guard. Her eyes were filled with fear and he immediately regretted his decision to ask her.

"I can't tell you. I can't tell anyone," she whispered, as if someone else was listening in.

He closed the window and went over to her.

"Why not?" he asked gently.

"She'll kill me," Amelia said her voice barely audible even to him.

"Who? Who will kill you?"

She shook her head as she hesitated. Amelia's hands shook.

"Is it Lillian?" he asked.

The slight nod of her head was all the answer he needed.

"She's not here," he tried to assure her. "She won't know. Please. I need to know what is on those tablets."

"I can't!" she said, louder that time. "I physically can't."

"Did she cast a spell on you?"

Amelia nodded.

"So you can't say a word about the tablets to anyone," he said, clarifying the situation.

She nodded again.

"What about writing it down?" he asked with a smile. "Did she say anything about that?"

Amelia paused. The thought had never occurred to her. She went over to her desk and grabbed a pen and paper. Cat Noir watched curiously as she shakily started to write. Her writing was slow at first, but once she realized that nothing dangerous was happening to her she started writing faster and faster. She filled up four pages of paper in under a minute. She seemed relieved when she had finished.

"There," Amelia said with a sigh. "That is what is written on the tablets." She walked over to him and gave him the papers.

He thanked her and put them in his pocket. "Did you translate them yourself?" he asked her.

She nodded. "With help, but I'm the only one who knows the full and complete translation."

"Merci, Amelia. You have no idea how much this helps."

"I'm just glad that someone knows," she said.

"Be careful, Amelia."

"I will."

Cat Noir left the way he came. He climbed up onto the roof where Ladybug was waiting. She stood up when she saw that Cat Noir was still fine. She ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"Did you not expect me to come back alive, my lady?" he asked as he hugged her back.

"A little," she admitted.

"Good to know you have so much confidence in me," he said a little sarcastically.

She pulled away but reached down to grab his hands.

"It's not a lack of confidence, Cat Noir," she told him. "It never is."

He let go of her hands and reached into his pocket. "Well, you'll be glad to know that she gave me the translation of the tablets," he said, holding up the papers Amelia gave him. "Let's head back to the hotel and see what we can make of it."

At the hotel after detransforming, they sat at the desk in Marinette's room. The first thing Marinette did was email the photos to Alya. It only took her a moment and then they were able to focus on the tablets. Adrien read through the translation with Tikki reading along with him. She was just as curious as to what the tablets said as they were. Plagg, on the other hand, was too busy making his way through a container of Camembert to be curious. The first part of it described some of the heroics of Ladybug and Cat Noir in that town. Then it went into the mention of the Menes Set. Tikki really got interested in that part. Even though she knew about the Set, she wasn't there when it was broken apart. It was after their time. They were in Egypt when it was broken apart. That Cat Noir was even cheekier than Adrien had ever been.

Adrien read the translation aloud after he read through the first couple of pages. Marinette listened intently to the story described. It first told about how Lillian was defeated back in that town. Adrien skimmed over the after-effects of the battle before moving on. Afterwards the tablets spoke of the ceremony used to break the pieces apart. They were given to merchants and travelers and spread across the world, knowing that whoever would come looking for the jewel would not have the right intentions. The jewel was lost even back then, but the map wasn't. The map was kept in that town.

"Okay," Marinette said when Adrien had paused. "This doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know. Is there anything else that might be helpful? Like a location or something?" Knowing a general location of the map was a great start, but who knew what happened later on. Maybe these tablets were made decades or centuries after the breaking of the Menes Set. Maybe the map was moved sometime later.

His green eyes scanned the pages quickly, looking for anything that might be helpful. "Oh, here! 'The way to its revelation will be its destruction.'"

"What does that mean?" Marinette asked.

He shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Does it say anything else? Like maybe something to explain what that says?"

He read the rest of it quickly, as did Tikki. Marinette watched as they read the translation. Suddenly their eyes went huge at the same time and their jaws dropped.

"What? What is it?" Marinette asked when she noticed. She leaned forward curiously.

"It says here," he said hesitantly. He seemed to be choking on his own words.

"It says what?" Marinette urged.

Tikki took over for Adrien since he seemed to be too much in shock.

"It says that there's a ritual that can be done with the set and the jewel," Tikki said.

Marinette waited for Tikki to continue, but even she seemed to be at a loss for words.

"What's the ritual?" Marinette asked. "What does it do?"

"It…," Adrien muttered. He took in a shaky breath then tried again. "It is a ritual to bring down endless destruction upon the world. Fires, storms, earthquakes, basically it's the apocalypse."

"And that's what Lillian wants to do?" Marinette asked. "Bring on the end of the world?"

Adrien nodded. "We can only assume."

"Lillian has always wanted power," Tikki said. "I didn't know she wanted that power to do something like this."

"Tikki, you said that the Jewel of Rubati granted the wearer god-like powers," Marinette said. "Does that mean she will be a god?"

Plagg took over the answer for that one. Marinette still wasn't sure how Plagg chose his helpful moments. It seemed like it happened when he was in between cheese containers.

"The Jewel of Rubati was created thousands of years ago," Plagg said. "This was way before Kwamis even existed. The tale is that a god, Rubati, wanted to be human to be with the person he loved, so he infused his powers into a jewel and gave it to some shamans to keep hidden."

"After a few decades," Tikki said, continuing Plagg's story, "a younger shaman decided to put on the jewel and as soon as it was around his neck he could do unimaginable things. He had the powers of Rubati. He could bend the forces of nature to his will. The power eventually went to his head and it started to control him instead of the other way around."

"How'd they defeat him?" Adrien asked.

Tikki shrugged. "No one really knows. It was such a long time ago that even what Plagg and I just told you we are not sure if that's actually what happened."

"What about the Set?" Marinette queried. "When did that come into play?"

"The Menes Set came about after the jewel was hidden some centuries later," Tikki answered. "They are infused with a bit of the power of the jewel. That's why they can do what they can do."

"Is there a way to stop it?" Marinette asked, her voice shaking. Adrien didn't say anything. She looked to Tikki, who seemed to be in the same shape as Adrien. "Maybe a fail-safe of sorts?"

"I'm sorry, Marinette. There's really no mention anywhere of how to stop the ritual," Tikki said.

Marinette sighed and leaned back into the chair. She felt like she had the wind knocked out of her. She glanced over at Plagg who, despite being too preoccupied before, was staring solemnly at the three of them. Plagg was the Kwami of destruction, but even destruction needed to be balanced with creation, which was where Tikki came in. There couldn't be one without the other.

"What does she need for the ritual?" Marinette asked, trying to keep a level head. She wasn't sure if it was working, but giving them something to stop would definitely be beneficial.

"It says that on the longest day of the longest year when the wanderers Shining Father and the Warrior are in line then the spell can be cast," Adrien said. His voice was still a bit shaky, but he seemed to be a bit better.

"That's seriously what it says?" Marinette asked in a flat voice, wondering if he was making it up.

He nodded. "That's what it says."

"That makes absolutely no sense. The Shining Father? What in the world does that mean?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but it's getting late. The sun will be up in a few hours. I suggest we get some sleep and think about this in the morning."

At his words, Marinette yawned. "I second that," she said.

"Seconded," Plagg said

"You didn't even do anything. You're just sitting there eating cheese," Adrien said a bit annoyingly.

"Exactly. It's hard work."

Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Goodnight you two," Marinette said with a small smile.

Adrien and Plagg headed back into the adjoining room. Plagg nestled up in Adrien's suitcase out of sight of Aunt Kathi and was asleep within seconds. Adrien, however, wasn't as lucky. He had taken the papers back with him and by the light of the moon he was rereading the translation again. He was looking for any clues that might help them figure out the riddle. The longest day of the longest year was fairly easy to figure out. The longest day of the year was the summer solstice, and the longest year was leap year. Immediately he knew that was that year they were in right then; a leap year. The summer solstice was just a few weeks away, just a couple weeks before school got out for the summer.

That wasn't the riddle that needed solving though. It was the other part, the part that mentioned the Shining Father and the Warrior. It sounded vaguely familiar to him, but it wasn't ringing any bells. It could've been something he learned back when he was homeschooled, but if it was it would have been a long time ago. He would have to go back through his old notebooks and school books to see if there was a mention of it somewhere. That would take him days, even if Marinette helped it would still be time that could spent more wisely elsewhere.

* * *

Adrien wasn't exactly sure when he had fallen asleep, but when he woke up the papers had fallen to the floor. His aunt was nowhere to be seen. Adrien rolled out of bed then dug through his bag looking for his toiletry bag. In the process he was brushing off cheese crumbs Plagg had left there during the night. The little black cat Kwami was still in there sound asleep, surrounded by a larger pile of cheese crumbs. Adrien sighed and grabbed the toiletry bad and a shirt that had the least amount of cheese on it.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked, walking through the door that adjoined their two room. He looked up and saw her hair was still damp.

"Yeah?"

Marinette started giggling when he turned around to look at her. He tilted his head in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

She pointed up at his head. "Your hair," she said, biting back a smile. "It looks like something the cat dragged in."

He reached up to smooth it down, but then her joke caught his attention. Marinette started laughing again.

"Oh! Now who's the one who's making cat jokes?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She shrugged. "It was too good to pass up," Marinette said. "I think a shower is the only thing that's going to fix that mess."

He rolled his eyes at her while shaking his head. Adrien's sense of humor was starting to rub off on her. If that went on any longer she would be making as many puns as he did.

"Where's my aunt?" Adrien asked as he went to turn grab his toiletry bag. It was full of expensive products leftover from his modeling days. Even though he did dislike the modeling, he couldn't get rid of the habit of using them.

"She left to get us breakfast," Marinette said. "And since we're alone, have you gotten any further with the ritual? Because the only thing I've figured it out is that it's this year on the first day of summer."

Adrien grimaced. "That's as far as I've gotten as well."

Marinette sighed. "Great."

"Don't get discouraged, Princess. We still have a few weeks to figure this out," Adrien told her.

"Figure what out?" Aunt Kathi asked, walking into the room. Marinette and Adrien jumped and whirled around in sync at the appearance of her. "Whoa! A little jumpy this morning are we?"

"Sorry, Aunt Kathi," Adrien said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't know what you're apologizing for. So, what do you two need to figure out?"

Marinette and Adrien shared a quick glance; then Marinette said, "We're trying to figure out our summer plans."

Adrien nodded. "Yeah. We're trying to decide what we want to do."

"I'm trying to convince him to do Disneyland," she said.

Aunt Kathi smiled at the two of them. She didn't notice anything off about their expressions, nor did she think they were lying. "Well, if my opinion means anything, Disney should never need convincing."

Marinette smiled smugly at her boyfriend. Even though it was a fake conversation they had made up about thirty seconds before, it still made her feel giddy to have his aunt on her imaginary side.

Aunt Kathi quickly changed the subject and started talking about their plans for the day. As Adrien went to go shower, he and Marinette shared another look. They both knew it would almost impossible to get anything done about the ritual while on vacation. Aunt Kathi would be with them almost the entire time, and, frankly, they didn't want to. If the world was going to come to an end in a few weeks, they wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

* * *

When Alya woke up she immediately checked her email and saw that Marinette had come through with the photos. She had taken at least three photos of every artifact in that exhibit. Alya was so excited! Her next Ladyblog post was going to be awesome!

She looked through the photos, examining the artifacts and reading their descriptions online since the ones at the museum were in English. The descriptions gave basic information about the town and the artifacts connected with it, but nothing was really grasping Alya's attention until she got to the Ladybug tablets. Those were the most interesting. The descriptions for them were very vague, but looking at the tablets herself she recognized a few similarities between them and the papyrus. More than once she had gone back to that exhibit to examine the papyrus. Alya took out her notes about the papyrus then compared them to the tablets. She found several images between the papyrus and the tablets that were very similar, despite being thousands of miles apart. There was a picture of a small creature with a black dot on its head on both the papyrus and the tablets. She wondered what it was, because it was obviously important.

The later tablets didn't have a mention of Ladybug and Cat Noir, but they were still interesting. It seemed to be describing a ritual of some sort. She would have to talk to a professional to be sure, but it was intriguing. Alya quickly typed her blog post then posted it with the photos Marinette took. She put in her speculations and highlighted some things she found interesting about the artifacts. Within seconds the views started climbing. Satisfied, she started getting ready for the day.

Nino met Alya at a café Adrien and Marinette had originally introduced them to. When she walked up he was on his phone reading something. It was probably her latest blog post. He always read them as soon as she would post it.

"Rad blog post, Alya," Nino said when she walked up. He gave her a quick kiss before walking inside.

"Isn't it? Just think about what this means!" Alya exclaimed when they got in line. "The fact that the papyrus in Egypt and the tablets in Kazakhstan share the same similarities is outstanding. I just wish that we had a full translation of the tablets. The descriptions of them were pretty vague."

"You know who could help you translate them, Alix's brother, Jalil!" Nino suggested.

"Do you really think he could help?" Alya asked with an upraised brow. She wasn't even phased by the fact Jalil tried to sacrifice her to an Egyptian god. It wasn't his fault, and it wasn't like she was entirely blameless either, neither was Nino. They had both been akumatized, and thankfully Alya was glad that she didn't remember it. Although, the powers Marinette described to her sounded pretty cool.

Nino shrugged. "It can't hurt to ask him," he said. "I'm sure he'd be happy to help. You know how excited he is about all this history stuff."

"Egyptian history, Nino," Alya reminded him. "I'm not sure how much help he could be." The moved up in the line. They were behind only one more person.

"Let's just ask Alix to see if she'll ask for us," Nino continued.

"Fine," she sighed. "Again, I doubt he'll know how to translate them. Egypt is on a completely different continent than Kazakhstan."

After breakfast Alya and Nino rushed to the park where they knew Alix would be. She practiced her roller blading there. They found her making a few warm up rounds around a small area of the park. When she saw Alya and Nino she went over to them.

"Hey, guys!" Alix greeted as she rolled up to them. "I saw your blog post, Alya. It's really awesome about Ladybug!"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Alya said. "Would your brother be willing to help translate the tablets?"

Alix raised an eyebrow. "Didn't they post a translation on the museum's website or something?"

"Nope. They didn't mention a single word, almost like they don't want people to know."

"Or maybe they just don't know what they say. It's entirely possible," Alix said. "I'm not sure how much Jalil could help you. He studies ancient Egypt."

Alya gave Nino a look. "That's what I told him."

Nino gave Alya a look right back. "Can't you at least ask him? Any help is better than no help," he said.

"I'll ask him today," Alix told them.

"Oh! Merci!" Alya exclaimed. She gave Alix a quick hug. "Merci! You have no idea how much this means to me."

Alix chuckled. "De rein. And I think I do. I'll let you know as soon as I can." She started skating down the sidewalk, giving them a quick wave as she left.

"Thank you again," Alya said.

"And you're welcome again!" Alix said, turning around and giving them another wave.

Later that day in the early afternoon hours, Alya received a text from Alix saying her brother agreed to help them. He would meet her and Nino at the Louvre in the Egyptian exhibit where the papyrus was. Alya immediately began gathering up her notes and pictures about Ladybug to get ready to talk to him. She printed off the pictures so that he could examine them without having to look at them from her phone.

Nino sat where he was watching her as she scrambled around in an organized frenzy gathering up all her files on Ladybug.

"I'm going to say that Jalil will talk to you?" Nino guessed. It wasn't that hard to figure out.

"Yup," she said. "At the Louvre."

"Awesome! When is he meeting you?"

"Now. Get up, we're leaving."

Alya grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to his feet. They ran out of Alya's house then got on the bus to take them to the Louvre.

Nino could barely keep up with Alya when they arrived. She dashed through the museum ignoring the protests of the various curators telling her to slow down. Alya arrived to the exhibit a good thirty seconds before Nino. She wasn't even out of breath.

She found Jalil sitting on a bench studiously going through a file in his hands.

"Jalil, bonjour," she greeted. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us."

Jalil looked up and smiled at her. He walked over to them and shook their hands quickly. "It's no problem. My sister told me how important this was to you, Alya, and frankly I like a challenge."

Alya smiled. "Well, I certainly hope this meets your expectations." She pulled her file out of her backpack and flipped through it until she found the pictures of the tablets. "I'm not sure if you've seen these yet, but the British Museum has been fairly vague about what they say."

Jalil took the pictures from her and started looking through them. "They haven't posted a translation?" he asked.

Alya shook her head. "Nope. I have some theories though. I think the last one talks about a ritual maybe. I'm not sure, but the first two are about Ladybug and Cat Noir."

Jalil nodded. "They definitely are," he said thoughtfully. "To me it's like they're telling a story."

"Are you able to translate it?" Alya asked hopefully.

He shrugged. "Possibly," he murmured. He flipped to the last two photos, the ones that Alya suspected were about the ritual. "You were right about them being about a ritual. I'm not sure exactly what the ritual is for, or what it does, but it's certainly not good."

"Wait, what do you mean 'not good?'" Alya asked

He adjusted his glasses and looked over the photos a little longer. "Well, a few of the symbols on here seem to be depicting natural disasters. Of course they might not. This is not my area of expertise," Jalil told them.

"What kind of natural disasters?" Nino asked a bit worriedly.

"You know, the usual. Earthquakes, storms, fires, that sort of thing," Jalil said a bit too casually. "Of course, these symbols could also easily mean something else. Even though the dialect is similar to that of the papyrus, it's not exactly the same. Though I can tell you that the ritual can't be done on any old day."

Alya moved to get a better look at the photo he was holding. He pointed to a set of symbols on the tablet.

"You see here? It's describing something that has to do with the position of the sun and the earth and the other planets. Though which planets I can't tell."

"Well, this has been extremely helpful, Jalil," Alya told him gratefully. "This has been more than I was expecting."

Jalil smiled warmly at her. "I am very happy to help. Alya, I might have some friends who could help with the translation further. Do you mind if I keep these?"

Alya nodded. "Oh! No, go right ahead. I would love it if you would keep them," she said excitedly. "Alix has my number. Call me when you figure anything out."

"Will do," Jalil told her.

After another round thanks, Alya and Nino left Jalil to get to work. Alya was confident that he would be able translate at least part of the tablets. Some of it was better than none of it.

As Alya walked out of the museum her phone started beeping. She pulled it out and saw that it was her headline tagging app. It tagged any article that had to do with Ladybug or Cat Noir. She expected it to be another fluff piece about them, but this one came from the BBC's website. Confused, she opened up the article and saw the photo that went with the headline. It was a grainy picture, definitely taken by an amateur, but there was no doubting the fact it was Ladybug and Cat Noir. They had been sighted running across the rooftops in London. The article said it might've been imposters, but the journalist had done some more digging and found some more security camera footage that confirmed it was indeed Paris's saviors. No one could fake cat eyes.

What were they doing in London? As far as she knew there wasn't any supervillain activity going on up there. It was certainly odd to see them outside of Paris. Were they there for the tablets? It made sense. If Alya was a superhero and some tablets had been found about her, she would want to go get a look at them.

Alya speed dialed her best friend's number. Since Marinette was there as well, maybe she knew more than what the article was saying. There could've been something on the news over there that gave more information about why the superheroes went across the Channel.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Aunt Kathi's first sightseeing stop for them that morning had been the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Once they stepped out of the Tube station, Big Ben had been there to greet them. It loomed above them, just right across the street, in all its glory. It was a gorgeous day in London with the sun out and a light breeze. Adrien and Marinette acted like dorks as they took turns taking selfies. Kathi stood off to the side watching with a smile and a slight shake of her head as she watched the teenagers do their best to get the iconic landmark in the frame as well as both of their faces. After letting the two of them try and fail, she took the pictures for them.

Their next stop was across only a short walk away, Westminster Abby. Marinette stared up at the Gothic structure, totally in awe. It was just as impressive as Notre Dame, with just as intricate architecture. While on the audio guided tour, Marinette took in every little detail she could. She walked on the worn steps, feeling the history rising up with her. A small part of her wondered if a previous ladybug miraculous wielder had been there before. She knew it was a long shot, but it made her feel happy to think so.

After, they headed to Westminster Bridge to not only see the London Eye, but to take a ride up in the famous Ferris wheel. From inside the glass capsules they could see all the famous buildings and landmarks. Adrien and Marinette stood at the east end of the capsule, holding the viewing guide and pointing out the various buildings. They moved around the small capsule, gazing out over the city, both of them feeling a sense of awe as they did.

After the London Eye, and stopping for a quick lunch at a restaurant along the river, they headed back across the river to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. They didn't go inside since they were on a tight schedule, but Marinette would want to go inside one day. From there it was only a short walk down The Mall to Buckingham Palace. They had missed the changing of the guard, but all they really wanted to see was the palace themselves. Again, as they had been doing throughout the day, they took about twenty different photos. They were going to have a tough time sorting through them all after the trip.

As Aunt Kathi led them eastward towards Hyde Park, Marinette was glad they were taking a break. It had only been a few hours, but so much had happened that it felt like days had passed. Aunt Kathi bought them some waffles and ice cream from a stand at the edge of the park and they found a shady spot to sit and eat.

After she finished her snack, Marinette rested against the tree staring out at the other visitors to the park. She was lightly tapping her pencil against the pages of her sketchbook as she stared. Her mind was flooded with patterns and designs. She was so glad that she decided to bring her sketchbook along. London was giving her so much inspiration for new designs. She hadn't felt that inspired in a few weeks. After the reveal of Hawk Moth, her creative juices hadn't been flowing as fast as she would've liked. It turned out all she needed was some different scenery.

Adrien lightly nudged her arm. "Princess, your phone," he muttered.

She had been so lost in thought that even the sound of her phone vibrating didn't capture her attention. Marinette pulled her phone out and saw that it was Alya. She raised an eyebrow curiously. Why would she be calling her?

"Hi, Alya," Marinette said when she answered. "What's up?"

"Have you been checking the news up there?" Alya asked.

That wasn't what Marinette was expecting. Adrien glanced over curiously. He suddenly wished he had his Cat Noir ears so he could hear.

"No. Why would I do that? Is there something going on here that I should know?"

"Ladybug and Cat Noir have been sighted up there," Alya told her. Marinette stiffened a bit at her words. "They aren't in Paris."

Adrien noticed the change in Marinette's demeanor, and he was more curious than ever.

"Why would they leave Paris?" Marinette asked, trying to hide the shakiness of her voice. "What's so special about London?" She thought they had done a good job of staying out of public eye. Maybe they needed more practice. It certainly wasn't something they were used to back in Paris.

"The tablets," Alya said obviously. "The same reason I wanted to go up there. They're about them. Why not go check it out? I know I'd be curious."

"Or maybe Cat Noir and Ladybug just wanted a change of scenery?" Marinette suggested. "I mean, with Paris safe and all wouldn't they want to move on to a different city?"

"No. Not those two," Alya told her adamantly. "I may not know who they really are, but I know the type of people they are. They would definitely not leave Paris, especially not now with all the robberies going on."

Marinette sighed. "You're right, Alya. They wouldn't."

"I'm sorry for calling during your little romantic getaway. I just wanted to ask."

"It's not a romantic getaway!" Marinette told her.

"Just keep telling yourself that," Alya said before hanging up.

Marinette shook her head as she put her phone away.

"Alya still trying to hook us up, even though we're already together?" Adrien asked.

"Did you expect anything less?" She tried to be joking about it, but it was getting more difficult. She knew that Adrien could sense something was off about her, but Aunt Kathi was right there. They had to be careful about what they said, or else she would get suspicious.

"Was that Alya, Marinette?" Adrien's aunt asked.

Marinette nodded. " _Oui_. She said that Ladybug and Cat Noir had been spotted here in London. Alya wanted to know if I had seen anything."

"Oh, right! For her blog! I've looked through it. She is definitely diligent and knows how to investigate. Alya has the makings for a great reporter," Kathi praised.

"She would be glad to hear that," Marinette said with a smile. "All she's ever wanted was to be a reporter."

"Alright, Oxford Street isn't far from where we are. _Allons-y_."

* * *

Sunday morning, after checking out of the hotel, Aunt Kathi took them to King's Cross Station to head back to Paris. Marinette was relieved by then. She was exhausted, physically and mentally. She had spent the rest of Saturday worrying about Alya. She was edging ever closer to the truth. It wasn't the fact that she was closer to finding out their secret identities, it was the fact Alya was going to put herself in danger. Her efforts were one step behind theirs, but she eventually would find out the truth.

On the train, Marinette and Adrien switched spots this time around. Marinette was by the window and Adrien in the aisle. As soon as she sat down in the seat she pulled out her sketchbook and started where she left off at the park. Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder as she sketched out a design for a pantsuit with some architectural inspiration. It wasn't quite coming together the way she wanted. Maybe if she changed the neckline…

She started a new page as she gave up for the moment on the pantsuit. Marinette had a nagging thought in her mind that told her to create another dress. She hadn't designed one since the dance. Marinette's hand glided effortlessly across the paper as she sketched out the basic style of the dress. It was long dress with a short train. She wasn't sure what color it was going to be, but she knew exactly what pattern she wanted. In the corner of the paper, she started drawing the pattern she had in mind.

All of a sudden she gasped and looked up as something clicked in her brain. Adrien hadn't noticed. He was too engrossed in the book he was reading on his phone. She sat up and snuck a glance around the train car. Adrien's aunt was in the seat across the aisle from them, but she had her headphones on and was watching something on her tablet. The rest of the train car was fairly empty, only a few other passengers were there. None of them were within earshot.

Marinette thought through her words, trying to form them into coherent sentences. It was a technique she had tried to perfect before she and Adrien started dating, and even when they did start dating she still had a bit of trouble speaking to him. Finding out he was also Cat Noir helped a lot though. She had never been nervous speaking with Cat Noir. They were friends and partners. Despite not knowing each other's civilian identities, the superheroes were very close. When she found out he was Adrien she felt like she had known him forever, yet she didn't know him at all. She got to know this brand new person, and it was so exciting for her.

Her thoughts were able to merge together enough for her to describe what popped in her head. She had started sketching a circular design for the dress, and it reminded her of the paths the planets took around the sun. She didn't know much about Astronomy, but she knew enough to know that sometimes planets would move into alignment. Their orbits would sync just right that they would be perfectly in line. The tablets were talking about the planets!

"Adrien," she hissed. He wasn't paying attention. She lightly elbowed him in the side. "Adrien! I've figured it out."

"Figured what out?" he asked, looking over at her.

"The tablets! They were talking about the planets. That's what they meant by being in line! It meant that two planets are going to be in convergence!"

"Of course," Adrien muttered, his eyes widening, "but which two planets?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. The Observatory would know, or we could just google it."

"That would definitely save us a trip," Adrien said as he pulled out his phone. He quickly typed what they wanted to know into the search engine. The first result that popped up was the website of the Paris Observatory. "It says here that on June 20th, Jupiter, Mars, the sun, and the Earth will all be in line in that order. It only happens a few hundred years, and it's only happened on the summer solstice in the past few thousand years."

"I'm pretty sure that answers the question of why now," Marinette muttered.

"She had to wait until the planets were in the right position," Adrien said.

"She already knew what was on the tablets," Marinette said. "She didn't go to Amelia to figure that out. She went to her to make sure we didn't."

"Lillian didn't do a very good job of that," Adrien muttered. "But she didn't just go there to stop us from finding out her plan. Lillian still needed the map, and Amelia had it. Now she has the map. We can't stop her. Why would she bother keeping that information from us when there's no way to defeat her?"

"Because there is a way," Marinette mused aloud. "There was one line in that translation. What did it say? Something about revelation?"

"'The way to its revelation will be its destruction,'" Adrien quoted.

"Exactly," she said.

Adrien closed his eyes and sighed. "That's what she was keeping from us. That's what she didn't want us to know. It's telling us how to destroy the jewel."

"'Its revelation will be its destruction.' It's talking about the Menes Set. There has to be a way to destroy it with the decoder and the sextant," Marinette said, trying her best to not raise her voice in excitement. After feeling defeated the last two days they had a small glimmer of hope.

"Like how? Another ritual?"

His girlfriend shrugged. "Probably. Or maybe something much simpler. We could talk to Master Fu. He would probably have information that could help us immensely," Marinette said.

"What are you two talking about over there?" Aunt Kathi interrupted.

Marinette squeaked at the surprise of hearing her voice. The conversation between Adrien and Marinette had been so intense and involved that they had pretty much blocked out their surroundings. It was almost like the two of them were in their own little bubble.

"Nothing," Adrien answered a little too quickly.

She raised an eyebrow at the two of them. They had been acting very weird the entire trip. Despite the fact they did act like normal teenagers at most of the sights, the time in between them the two teenagers kept sharing odd glances and looks. She hadn't been sure what to make of it. Kathi had never seen the two of them look so worried or jumpy. They both hid it well, but not well enough for her to not notice. She hadn't said anything about it, hoping it was just the nerves or excitement, but if anything it had gotten worse.

"It didn't look like nothing," she said.

"Honestly, it was nothing," Adrien continued, doing his best to sound casual.

Kathi didn't believe him one bit, but she didn't say anything. She wasn't even sure what to ask them. Kathi was new to the whole being-a-parent thing. She wasn't trying to be a mother to Adrien at all. That wasn't her intention, but she did love him. She wanted to make sure Adrien was safe, and Kathi didn't feel like Adrien was safe at the moment. She wasn't sure how she knew that; it was just a nagging thought in the back of her head.

"Well," Kathi said, "whenever you want to talk about the nothing you two were discussing, I'm always here."

"Thanks, Aunt Kathi," Adrien said in the same casual voice, "but there's nothing to talk about."

Aunt Kathi smiled blandly at the two of them then went back to her tablet. The young superheroes let out a quiet sigh of relief as they evaded what could've been a very awkward set of questions, the answers to which they didn't know if they could give.

The rest of the train ride back to Paris was quiet except for the odd comment here and there. Adrien and Marinette, relieved that they had made some progress with the mysteries surrounding Lillian, relaxed for most of the train ride. The last leg of the trip was spent with them napping while resting on each other. Aunt Kathi had a difficult time trying to wake up the exhausted teenagers at the end of the trip. Both of them just muttered under their breath and refused to open their eyes.

"Come back later," Adrien muttered. "We're taking a little cat-nap."

Aunt Kathi didn't notice anything off about his words, but Marinette did since they seemed to bring some awareness into her. Aunt Kathi could've sworn she saw Marinette give him an unamused look, but in the end she wrote it off as her imagination.

"Come on, you two," Aunt Kathi said, her voice going a little higher. "We have to leave. You'll have plenty of time to sleep in your own beds."

Marinette sat up and stretched just to bring some life back into her stiff limbs. The movement caused Adrien's head to fall off her shoulder and force him to wake up. He stretched as well, but his aunt noticed that he did it with more grandeur and flexibility than she thought was necessary. She would've said it was almost cat-like in the way he moved. It must've been all those fencing lessons he had. It was probably a reflex from some warm-up exercise he had to do.

Marinette and Adrien grabbed their things and then departed the train. Aunt Kathi's car was where she left it just a few days before. She stopped by Marinette's house first to drop her off safely. Aunt Kathi shared a few pleasantries with her parents before setting off for the mansion. Marinette headed upstairs to her room. Once the door was closed Tikki flew out of her bag.

"That was a wonderful trip!" Tikki said.

Marinette set her bag down on her dresser, telling herself she would unpack it later after a nap. With Tikki's words and memories from London came to her mind. Many of them were pleasant and wonderful, while others were less than such.

"Are you sure we were on the same trip there, Tikki?" Marinette asked her Kwami.

"I meant it, Marinette. We are a step ahead of Lillian. She doesn't know we have the translation! We know exactly what she is going to do, and we can stop her."

Marinette had to agree with Tikki on that front, but it still wasn't enough to entirely convince her. There were still a hundred and more things that could go wrong. They still didn't know how the spell was done, or what exactly she would need. Did it have to happen at a certain location? Could it be easily stopped or did a number of other things have to happen? Those questions and many more flooded Marinette's mind as she began to unpack her luggage. She tossed her soiled clothes into her hamper and put away the backup outfit she had brought. To keep her mind busy, however, Marinette started reorganizing her dresser. She hoped that by not thinking about it, her subconscious might be able to work some magic.

Tikki watched Marinette silently, but the Kwami's mind was racing just as much as her charge's. Tikki knew exactly who they needed to talk to, Master Fu. He would have the answers to the questions Tikki just knew were racing through Marinette's mind. She knew they would have to go see him soon, but Marinette looked exhausted. They would have to talk to him another day.

* * *

The next day at school Adrien arrived ahead of Marinette. She had texted him when he was around the block from her house saying she had overslept and to wait at the school. He smiled and shook his head. He could imagine her running around her room scrambling to get ready, probably knocking over a few things in the process. Marinette had always found her clumsiness embarrassing, but Adrien had always found it a bit cute. Even more so now that he was dating her.

Adrien didn't even notice the car that always drove Chloe to school, but Chloe noticed him as soon as it pulled up. She noticed that he was alone and took the chance. During the two months that they had been dating, they had always arrived at school together. She couldn't stop the giddy feeling that passed through her. Chloe had no idea why she was so excited to see Adrien alone. It had been two months since he had started dating the baker's daughter, and since then she had been trying to get over him. In fact, she thought she was. She even had her sights on a different teenage model, but there was something different about him that morning. Even Chloe didn't know exactly why she jogged over to him, calling him by the nickname she used to get his attention.

"Adrikins!" Chloe called as she jogged over to him.

Adrien looked up in surprise. Once he saw who was coming over his good mood vanished.

"Hey, Chloe," he said, not even hiding the disgruntlement.

She ran up and got too close for Adrien's comfort. He tried to move away but she kept moving closer. He rolled his eyes but Chloe didn't even notice.

"So, where's Marinette? You two are still dating, aren't you?" she asked in the same voice she always used to try to persuade people. Chloe put her arm around him as she spoke.

"Of course we're still dating," Adrien said obviously, deftly moving out from underneath her grasp. He quickly took two steps away to try and keep his distance.

"Why would you even want to date her?" Chloe asked. "She's totally ordinary and not at all as interesting as _moi_! I'm the daughter of the mayor! We've been friends since we were kids! I know you like no one else. I'm the perfect choice for you!"

 _You don't know everything about me_ , Adrien thought to himself.

"Look, Chloe, I know this is probably going to be hard to hear, but I am dating Marinette," he told her in a hard voice. "I am never going to date you, alright?"

She crossed her arms and glared at him, her mood entirely changed. Even Chloe was unsure as to why she was so upset by this news. "Ugh! She is just a phony, Adrien! Why can't you see that? She has everyone in class wrapped around her little finger! I thought you would see that by now! She's a liar!"

Adrien couldn't believe what Chloe was saying. Even for her, this was low, but before he could say anything back Marinette walked up.

"Excuse me?" Marinette said. Adrien and Chloe turned toward the sound of her voice, and both of them saw her glaring at Chloe. Her bluebell eyes were shooting daggers at her.

"I am _not_ a phony!" Marinette defended. "I'm also not a liar!"

"Of course you are! How else would you get _him_ to date _you_?"

Marinette raised her eyebrow at Chloe's question. She glanced over at Adrien who had on the same expression as Marinette. Even for Chloe, this was a bit out of line, and why was she acting like this all of a sudden? It had been a couple months since they had started going out, and it had seemed like Chloe was starting to get over it. She was even taking an interest in another famous boy she had met.

"By actually getting to know him," Marinette told her, sounding slightly confused, "and caring about what's going on in his life. Do you even know what his favorite color is?"

"Of course I do! It's yellow!" Chloe said, but she didn't sound too confident.

"It's red," Marinette said.

"Good bye, Chloe," Adrien said. They joined hands and turned away from her.

"Wait!" Chloe called after them. "Look, I'm sorry. I have no idea why I did that."

Marinette and Adrien turned around with disbelief on their faces. Was she actually apologizing? Chloe never apologized. Marinette thought that this was like seeing the Loch Ness Monster having a tea party with Santa Clause down in Atlantis.

"Look, honestly," she continued, "I'm happy for the two of you. But when I saw you standing there alone, Adrien, I don't know. Something came over me."

Marinette and Adrien shared a glance. Marinette started looking around, searching for a face in the crowd.

"It's fine, Chloe," he said.

"Really?" she asked, sounding truly relieved. "Because you haven't spoken to me since you got together."

"Well after your little prank on Marinette, did you really blame?"

Marinette cringed at the memory, although the rest of the night was a dream come true.

"I guess not," Chloe said, hanging her head. "Look, I'm having a party on the last day of school, a summer bash, I want you to come. Both of you."

That took Marinette by surprise. She was never invited to any party thrown by Chloe. Ever. Could it be that Chloe was — and Marinette couldn't believe that she was thinking this — actually changing? This was even more unbelievable than she thought, yet here it was happening right in front of her.

"Um, sure," Marinette said, still not believing what she was seeing. "Thanks, Chloe."

"So we're good?"

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, Chlo, we're good."

Chloe squealed, hugged Adrien just for a moment, and ran inside.

Marinette and Adrien shared a glance of disbelief.

"What the heck?" Marinette mouthed to Adrien.

He shrugged and shook his head. He was as stumped as her.

"That was so awesome!" Alya said as she ran up to catch them. Adrien and Marinette didn't even notice that a crowd had started to gather around them. Alya had captured everything on her phone. "I mean, was that actually Chloe, or maybe it was a Chloe-Clone. Was she replaced by an alien? Are we being invaded?"

Adrien chuckled, and Marinette started shaking her head. "I still can't believe what just happened," Marinette said. "She apologized; she was _nice_. She's never nice, not to me."

"Maybe she's changing," Alya suggested.

"She invited us to her summer bash," Marinette stated.

Alya dropped her hands and her jaw. "Seriously? She actually invited you to a party? You, personally?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah. I'm just as confused as you are."

"Well, whatever has taken over Chloe's brain, I hope it lasts," Alya said.

Marinette couldn't think about it any longer. That one-eighty had happened too fast for her to comprehend. Her mind was spinning around such a sudden change.

She decided to move past the Chloe incident. It was too strange for her to think about. "So how was your weekend, Alya?" Marinette asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.

"It was awesome!" Alya squealed. "The post about the museum got thousands of hits within minutes of uploading it. It was probably one of my biggest posts yet, well behind my livestream with my little kidnapped situation with the Pharaoh. Oh! That reminds me, I talked to Alix's brother Jalil and he said he might be able to translate the tablets!"

"But he studies ancient Egypt," Marinette said, deftly hiding the panic in her voice. "The tablets are from Kazakhstan. How could he translate them?"

"He's going to have some colleagues help him out," Alya said casually.

"Why would you want to get them translated?" Adrien asked. "If they say anything like what's on the papyrus, it might be better if it's left to the unknown. We don't want another sacrificial ritual on our hands." He was flashing back to the Pharaoh incident where Alya had almost ended up being lost forever. That wasn't his only concern though. Marinette and Adrien both knew what the tablets said, and it was not good. It was worse than what the Pharaoh was going to do.

"Oh, please! Like that'll ever happen twice," Alya said with a casual wave of her hand.

Adrien was a bit impressed with her. Not much was able to keep that girl down. Whether it was being personally targeted by an akuma, or becoming an akuma herself. She just kept trucking.

The superheroes wanted to tell Alya the truth, but in doing so it would reveal both of their identities. Alya had a lot of faith in Jalil in getting the tablets translated. They were confident that he could get it done, or at least be able to give a general overview of what they were about. Giving Alya that knowledge could be very dangerous. She would want to be in the middle of it all, and Lillian would kill her just to get her out of the way.

Nino was waiting for them all in the classroom. He helped fill them in on his and Alya's adventure over the weekend. Turned out that Alya had taken the same side as Adrien when it came to asking for Jalil's help, though Nino was the one who convinced her.

Any time Alya had a chance, she was listing off her theories about Ladybug and Cat Noir. She certainly didn't have a shortage of them. Alya knew it was more than coincidence that Ladybug and Cat Noir were in London at the same time as the tablets. Adrien and Marinette already knew some of the information Alya had deduced since they had read her blog post, but it turned out that she hadn't posted what she found out from Jalil. Alya already knew that the tablets depicted a ritual and that it had to be done on a day when certain planets were aligned.

She already knew more than Marinette and Adrien were comfortable with. They were becoming very concerned with how much Alya was deducing. Adrien remembered how scared Amelia was when she talked to Lillian, and he was there as Amelia spoke to him. She was deathly afraid and even though they figured out a loophole to Lillian's spell, it was still a huge risk and they both knew it. Lillian didn't want anyone to know what was on those tablets.

Adrien and Marinette both knew that Alya was probably on Lillian's radar already, and if Alya posted anything else it could spell disaster for all of them, including Amelia. She was the one that gave them the translation in the first place, and she would pay for it. Then after Amelia, Lillian would set her sights on Alya for figuring it out. Lillian didn't want anyone messing with her plans, and Marinette and Adrien were sure that Lillian wasn't above murdering to keep it that way.

Alya couldn't help but notice how quiet Adrien and Marinette were as she was going through her various theories and ideas about the tablets and what they could mean. It wasn't the fact that they were quiet, but they also looked worried. What could they be worried about? It sounded like they had fun in London. Who could possibly be worried after that? It was odd that they weren't even more lovey-dovey after the trip. Alya expected them to be closer than ever. It wasn't like they weren't, but they weren't as adorable and cute as they were before they left. Her journalist instincts were telling her to get to the bottom of it, but her other instincts were telling her to leave it alone and to not get involved.

"So, Marinette, do you wanna hang out?" Alya asked her best friend as they walked out of class. "I heard there's a new film playing at the cinema."

"I'd love to, Alya," Marinette said. "Except that Adrien and I already have plans, but I promise to go with you tomorrow!"

"Come on! Adrien had you all weekend, it's my turn!" Alya told her. "I feel like we haven't hung out just the two of us in weeks!"

"Yes we have! Just last week we hung out," Marinette reminded her. Alya still wasn't too thrilled about her best friend already having plans. Marinette could see that and put a comforting hand on Alya's shoulder. "If I could, I would go to the cinema with you, but this thing Adrien and I have planned can't be cancelled. I do promise you that we will go tomorrow."

"Okay," Alya said, her face relaxing into a smile. "I'll keep you to that promise, Mari."

"When have I ever let you down?" Marinette asked with a wide smile.

"I hope you and Adrien have fun at whatever it is you two are doing," Alya said genuinely. They had arrived at the bottom of the front steps of the school. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Alya ran off waving good-bye to Marinette, who returned the gesture. Once she was out of sight Marinette sighed and her smile faded. Adrien came up behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at his sudden appearance and whirled around.

"Whoa!" Adrien said with a smile. "It's just me."

"Sorry. You surprised me."

He chuckled. "Just like old times. You ready to go see Master Fu?"

Marinette nodded. "Yep. Lead the way."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Alya sat at her desk typing away at her laptop. She was forming her latest Ladyblog post. She was taking a break from the tablets to post some fun facts about the history of black cats and when they started being considered unlucky. It was interesting to Alya, and hopefully it would be interesting to her followers. She was trying her best to stay focused, but her mind kept straying to Marinette and Adrien. They were acting extremely weird as Alya talked about the tablets. She hadn't noticed at the time, but they were more quiet than usual. They kept glancing at each other and making weird faces. She had suspected more than once that they were Ladybug and Cat Noir, but she never got any solid proof. Could they actually be Ladybug and Cat Noir? Part of her wanted to say yes, but another part of her was saying that they couldn't possibly be them.

Alya shook her head to clear it. She was being crazy. Just because they were acting a little weird didn't mean they were superheroes. They acted weird a lot, even before they started dating. She remembered talking to Nino about how Marinette and Adrien would disappear at random times. In fact they were almost always gone during times when an akuma villain showed up. Of course there was that time when Time Breaker attacked. Alya remembered very vividly that Ladybug was up on top of the building at the same time Marinette was down there with them.

Alya stood up and roughly stormed away from her desk. All that going back and forth was making her head hurt. If she was going to get to the bottom of the mystery of Ladybug and Cat Noir's identities, she needed more proof. Guesswork and hunches weren't going to get Alya the answer she needed. She checked the time and sighed. Getting proof about their identities would have to wait. She had chores to finish before she could find out who they really were.

* * *

Master Fu walked in holding a tray with a pot of tea and a plate of various foods. Marinette noticed the camembert container and the plate of chocolate chip cookies. She should've known that Master Fu would know Tikki and Plagg's favorite foods. Immediately their Kwamis swarmed over the food, and a moment later Wayzz joined them.

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," Marinette said as she picked up one of the cups of tea. It was warm under her fingers and immediately comforted her. Behind Master Fu she saw the record player which held the Miraculous Box containing the Bee, Peacock, Butterfly, and Fox Miraculouses. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered the day she brought Nooroo back home. She glanced over at Adrien and saw him holding three cookies in his hands and was currently munching on one. She rolled her eyes at him. He was such a foodie, it was almost ridiculous.

"It is no trouble, Marinette," Master Fu said. "I see you are enjoying the cookies, Adrien. I remembered that you always had a fondness for them."

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked, his attention fully grasped.

"I knew you when you were just a baby," he explained. "Your parents used to bring you along when they came to visit me."

"How come I don't remember?" he asked, very intrigued at this new information.

"Because the last time they brought you along you were only three years old."

"What made them stop?" Adrien was soaking up all the information he could. He didn't know much about his parent's past and was anxious to hear anything about it.

"Your father's career started to take off, so they weren't able to take time off in between all the traveling."

"Why didn't you tell me this the last time we spoke?"

Master Fu shrugged. "You never asked."

Adrien sighed as a thought occurred to him. "Is that why you chose me to be a Miraculous holder?"

Master Fu nodded. "It is part of the reason. It's true that since both of your parents were able to wield Miraculouses with such success you would be able to as well. Of course, choosing the right recipient for a Miraculous is more than just lineage. Even though you had not seen me in years, I still kept a strict eye on you. As you grew, I feared the kind-hearted and selfless young child I knew would turn sour, yet you never did. Your heart remained pure. I knew you would be a perfect Miraculous holder."

"So that day in front of the school was not a coincidence?" Adrien asked.

Master Fu chuckled. "Of course not. What were the odds that I would happen upon the right person at just the right time and he or she would be the perfect choice for a Miraculous? I had to be sure that you were as kind as I thought you were."

Adrien smiled warmly at Master Fu, but then he glanced over at Marinette. She was staring at her tea with a sad and thoughtful expression.

"Marinette, what's wrong?" Adrien asked.

"Why'd you chose me?" she asked Master Fu, ignoring Adrien's question. "I was possibly the worst choice for a superhero ever. I was, and still am, clumsy. I run into walls constantly, and I basically broke everything I touched. I'm still known to drop my phone at least once a day. I even drop my yo-yo on his head more times than I care to admit. I never even had any experience fighting. Why did you chose me?"

"Oh, Marinette," Master Fu said with a smile and a sigh, "those were the exact reasons as to why I chose you. Have you not noticed how much more confident you have become since taking on the ladybug Miraculous?"

Marinette thought about it for a moment, and realized he was right. She was more confident. She had done things she never thought she would be able to do before she put on the earrings. Marinette never would've thought to run for class rep before, mainly since Chloe always ran and she always won. Becoming Ladybug let her realize that she could do it. She could run for class rep and she could win. In fact she did.

"As with Adrien," he continued, "I had been watching you for a long time before giving you the Miraculous. There were several young kids that I had discovered that could possibly hold the Miraculous, but none of them were as perfect for it as you could be."

"But how did you even find me in the first place? You had known Adrien since he was a child, and his parents both held Miraculouses! Why was I special?"

Master Fu smiled knowingly at Marinette. "I knew some of your ancestors back when I lived in China. One of them had even held a Miraculous. When I came to Paris, I immediately tracked your family down and that was when I started keeping an eye on you, Marinette."

Though she was glad Marinette finally had an answer as to why she was chosen, it didn't make her feel better. She glanced over at Adrien, and it looked like he wasn't feeling any better, too.

"What's on your mind, Adrien?" Master Fu asked.

Adrien shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's get on to what we came here for."

"Ah, yes," Master Fu mused. "I was wondering if you two would come and speak to me about her."

Marinette raised her eyebrows. "You mean you knew about Lillian?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes. All keepers of the Miraculous know about Lillian, or as she has been known in many other cultures, the Shadow Witch. She is very powerful, and every time she has been defeated there have been disastrous consequences."

The name Shadow Witch sounded vaguely familiar to the both of them, but they couldn't spend too much time on it.

"What kind of consequences?" Marinette asked warily.

"Whole towns destroyed, civilizations lost," Master Fu said gravely. "Her defeat has come at the price of thousands of lives. I fear it will be the same this time."

"We won't let that happen," Adrien said confidently. "This is our city. We will do everything we can to protect it."

"I know you will," he said. "That is exactly why I chose you two to protect it."

"Of course we can't protect anyone without knowing what we're up against," Marinette said, reminding her boyfriend to not run headlong into the action. His instinct to attack first and ask questions later had gotten them into a bit of trouble before.

"The tablets, of course. I remember reading about them on your friend Alya's blog. I must say she is a very smart and a very clever young woman," he said with a thoughtful glint in his eye.

"We already have the translation," Adrien said. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the pieces of paper Amelia gave them. "The last few pages describe a ritual that we believe Lillian is trying to do with the Jewel of Rubati. She's already gathering the Menes Set, and we believe she has the map already."

"Oh, this is not good," Master Fu said, stroking his beard. "I had heard about the robberies, but I didn't realize she already had the map."

"How can we stop her?" Marinette asked. "There's something in the translation about its revelation being its destruction, but we're not sure exactly what that means."

"It is a safeguard the creator of the jewel designed in case it came into the wrong hands," Master Fu explained. "In the center of the decoder is a type of poison. It's a powder that can remove the life essence of the jewel, effectively destroying it."

"That's great!" Marinette exclaimed. "All we have to do is get the decoder away from Lillian, and then we can destroy the jewel."

"It's not that simple," Master Fu said. "A piece of the sextant must be used as well. It resembles an ice pick, and it must be dipped into the poison before being stabbed into jewel. It is the only way to permanently destroy ut."

"And the only way to stop Lillian," Adrien said.

"Yes," said Master Fu. "It will take both of your combined strengths to defeat her. You two are the strongest Ladybug and Cat Noir I have seen in centuries. I am confident that you will be able to stop her."

Adrien and Marinette shared a solemn glance. Everyone was telling them that they could do it, but neither felt confident enough. Hawk Moth was a video game set on easy compared to Lillian.

"Now drink up," Master Fu continued, "before the tea gets cold."

The young superheroes took a small sip of their tea. Marinette could barely choke it down since her stomach was tying itself in knots.

"Um, Master Fu," Adrien said after a moment of silence, "Lillian said that we would know about her if you had been training us. What did she mean by that?"

"In the past, many Miraculous Keepers had trained their Miraculous Holders. It was to teach them on the history of Kwamis and the Miraculouses and villains in the past who have tried to use it for evil. I thought about it with the two of you, but once I saw how perfectly you worked together I saw no need. Neither of you needed any fight training, nor lessons on how to communicate in battle. You were already a perfect team, and besides I believed your Kwamis could explain everything to you in time. Maybe I should've reconsidered."

Adrien scoffed. "The only important information Plagg has ever told me is that he loves the smell of my gym socks because it reminds him of camembert," he grumbled.

"And that's why I love hanging out in your gym bag," Plagg piped up from his place on the food tray.

"And the trash and my laundry basket," Adrien said.

Master Fu chuckled. "Yes, I realize how much Plagg's stomach can over power his head," he said with a glare towards the black cat Kwami, "but he is there to help you."

"Hey!" Plagg exclaimed. "I help him!"

"At the most random times," Adrien murmured.

Everyone in the room chuckled, except for Adrien and Plagg. Neither of them looked amused.

"Anyway," Master Fu said when their laughter had died down, "I believe it will benefit both of you to do a few training sessions with me. We shall get started tonight. The stadium will be perfect. Make sure to arrive in uniform."

Marinette and Adrien both agreed to come by. Neither of them were willing to turn down any help. They still had several weeks until the spell had to be done. A lot could be learned during that time. They could learn new strategies and techniques that could help them defeat Lillian.

Once they left Master Fu's, the sun was hanging a low in the sky, but they still had a couple hours of daylight left. They decided to spend it doing homework. It wasn't the most fun thing to do in the world, but they agreed it would be the best way to keep their minds off of Lillian.

* * *

Alya was anxious to get back to her computer and finish her blog post. She ran off to do her chores before finishing and she was regretting it. Luckily the only thing she had left to do was some dusting around the living room. Alya was practically a blur as she moved around the room. Nothing was going to keep her away from her computer for any longer.

Alya's hands were still slick with dusting agent as she ran back to her room. Now that her mind had time to rest she was able to finish her blog post with ease. Within minutes it was posted. Alya sat back and looked at her blog proudly. When she first started it, Alya never would've thought the blog would be taking her that far. Her photos and videos had been featured on the news many times before, and she was also the only one to get an exclusive interview with Ladybug. She never figured it out at the time how Marinette was able to pull it off, but she would be forever grateful for it. Of course if Marinette really was Ladybug, then that would explain how she did it. It would explain away a lot of things, but again there was the fact she didn't have enough evidence to prove she was Ladybug.

Her phone started beeping with a new message. It was from an unknown number, but she opened it anyway. It turned out it was Jalil saying he had some progress with the translation. He asked if she had some time to meet him at his office. Alya didn't care if it was the middle of the night. She would always have time for Ladybug information.

She grabbed her bag and dashed out of the house. Normally it was just a few minutes by bus to get the Louvre, but the next one wouldn't be for another half hour. Alya was excited to know what Jalil had found out, so she started running. Once there at the museum she located Jalil's office quickly, and was soon taken aback by the amount of Egyptian artifacts in the room. Many of them were small and looked like they had broken off of bigger pieces, but she was still impressed. A lot of them had hieroglyphics on them, but Alya could barely tell one from the other. Although she suspected that Jalil knew them all by heart.

"Alya! You got here quickly," Jalil stated.

Alya shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood. What'd you find out?"

"Oh! I think you'll find this interesting!" Jalil exclaimed. He rifled through the papers on his desk until he found the one he wanted. "I consulted the help of my friends in the Asian exhibits. So far we've been able to gather this much about the tablets. The first couple of tablets seem to be telling a story. It mentions Ladybug and Cat Noir, and someone we believe is named the Shadow Witch."

"The Shadow Witch?" Alya echoed. "Who's that?"

"We couldn't find much on her, but apparently she was extremely powerful."

"What happened to her?" she asked.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir defeated her, but it had devastating consequences. There was a large earthquake with countless casualties. After that there's no more mention of them."

"Really?" Alya was a bit disappointed. She thought the tablet had more information on them, but what Jalil and his friends had discovered was more than she could ever dream of. "What about after that? What else do the tablets say?"

"I'm afraid we haven't gotten that far," Jalil said, "though we are working on it. The tablets seem to have very interesting information, especially when it comes to the ritual. It seems very elaborate and requires a lot of planning."

"Well, what you've found out so far has been extremely interesting," Alya told him. "Do you mind if I take a copy to post on my blog?"

Jalil handed her a slip of paper with a wide smile. "Of course, I don't mind!"

"Thank you so much! I'll get this posted as soon as I can. You've been a big help, Jalil."

"Do you want us to continue translating the rest?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. "I'm curious on what the rest of it says. Text me when you have more."

She said a quick good-bye to Jalil then headed out of the museum. Alya took her time heading back to her house. She was lost in thought as she started laying out the post for the translation. She would get started on it that night, and then in the morning she would have Nino take a second look at it. At night she didn't write as well as she did during the day. Even though he loved her, he wasn't afraid to give her the hard truth about her writing.

Alya got started on the blog post once she arrived home, but her eye lids started to droop soon. It was getting late, and she didn't even know it. Promising herself to get a fresh start in the morning, Alya got ready for bed and was soon asleep.

She wasn't sure what woke her up, but she would later be glad for it. Alya sat up and looked around her room to find what woke her, but she couldn't see anything. She was about to go back to sleep but something out her window caught her eye. Alya ran over and saw two very familiar figures running through the city. Ladybug and Cat Noir! She quickly threw on a pair of jeans and some shoes. She grabbed her nighttime video camera and her cell phone before dashing out of her house.

Even though she didn't have the stamina of her favorite superheroes, Alya was still able to keep up with them pretty easily. She started filming as she was running.

"Okay followers," she said as she filmed, "I managed to wake up at just the right moment to follow Ladybug and Cat Noir as they do their patrol through Paris. Though it doesn't seem like they're doing a normal patrol routine. They could be on their way to somewhere. Let's see if we can find out."

Alya kept running and filming. She didn't want to miss a second of it. She just wished she could livestream it, but she would just have to post it later. Alya gasped when she saw that they were heading towards the stadium. Many akuma battles had been fought there in the past. She remembered the first time she saw Ladybug and Cat Noir in action. It had been right there in that stadium. She was so stoked to learn that superheroes were real, and that they were as awesome as Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Alya watched as they jumped right into the stadium.

"It looks like there's something going on in the stadium that only the two of them seem to know about," she said. "Good thing the students at my high school have special entry."

Alya snuck into the stadium through the back. All the students at Collége Françoise Dupont had special key cards to get into the stadium since P.E. was held there. Alya ran up to the field, and what she saw stopped her in her tracks.

Ladybug and Cat Noir were facing off against each other. Ladybug had her yo-yo out and was spinning it so it was a bright pink circle. Cat Noir had his staff extended and was holding it out in an offensive position. They hadn't noticed her yet. They seemed too engrossed in what they were doing.

"In order to function better as a team," a voice from the other side of the stadium said, "you must know each other's weaknesses so you can better protect each other. The only way to do that is to fight each other."

Alya zoomed in on her camera to see if she could get a good view of the person that was talking to the superheroes, but it was too dark and the video was too grainy. She zoomed back out so she could keep an eye on the action.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I've had to fight Cat Noir several times," Ladybug pointed out.

Alya knew she had a point. Many times Cat Noir had been affected by the akuma victim and had been turned against Ladybug. Knowing she didn't want to be spotted, Alya tried to find a good hiding spot.

"Thank you for reminding me," Cat Noir said sardonically.

"It is different when one of you is under the influence of an akuma villain," the other voice said. As Alya searched for a better hiding spot, she was able to get a better look at who that voice belonged to. She knew it was a man, but all she could see of him was a red and white Hawaiian shirt. It looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't figure out why.

"Now fight," he continued.

Even though they seemed hesitant to do so, Alya saw them get into their fight stances. Cat Noir made the first move, and he moved fast. She had seen them fight many times before, and Alya knew enough about fighting to know that Cat Noir's really reflected his cat persona. He was fast and agile and very lithe. He moved with very flexible and feline-esque movements.

Ladybug sensed his attack and quickly dodged it. Her fighting was strikingly different from Cat Noir's in the sense hers looked more like gymnastics than anything. She moved very gracefully, but she made every move count. Ladybug didn't waste a single movement.

They fought each other for a few minutes, but neither was making much headway. They had fought together for so long that they knew exactly how the other was going to respond.

"Cat Noir, you leave your right side undefended too often," the man said to him. "Ladybug, make sure to keep moving. Your enemy can't get you if they can't catch you."

Alya watched as the superheroes adjusted almost immediately. The fighting became more intense as it went on.

"Oh, followers, this is such a great opportunity!" she said in an excited, yet hushed whisper. "I've managed to stumble upon some sort of training session with our favorite city protectors. This is such a great scoop. You have no idea how cool this is!"

The superheroes fought for a few more minutes before they were told to stop. They were both breathing heavily, but neither seemed worn out. They had fought for longer than that, and harder, too.

"It's weird fighting you when you're not temporarily evil," Ladybug said to him in a light tone.

"I wouldn't even know about that since I can't remember any of them," Cat Noir told her.

"Let's just say it's not fun," Ladybug said. "Though trying to kiss you when Dark Cupid recruited you was pretty fun."

"I still can't believe I turned down a kiss from you, my lady," Cat Noir said with a flirty smile. "How about we make up for that?" He leaned in for a kiss, but she pushed him back with a light touch of her fingertips.

"Maybe later, kitty," Ladybug said with an amused smile. "Right now we have work to do. Lillian's the priority. She's the reason we're here."

Alya began to wonder who Lillian was. She'd never head of that person before. Was she a new villain? How come Lillian hadn't made herself known before? Alya hoped that they would say more, but instead they went back to training. Even though she knew it was a risk, she edged around the stadium trying to get closer. Alya knew how acute Cat Noir's hearing was, and if she wasn't quiet than he would hear her. If only she saw the pile of exercising equipment in front of her, then she would've been able to just move around them. Instead she ran right into them giving away her position.

"Oh crap," Alya sighed.

Cat Noir whirled around at the sound of something falling over. His highly attuned ears were able to pin point exactly where it had come from, and the sound originated somewhere behind him.

"What was that?" Ladybug asked.

"It seems like we have a visitor," Master Fu said calmly.

Cat Noir ran over to where the sound came from and to his surprise he saw Alya lying on a pile of fallen football equipment. He was confused as to why she was there, but immediately he realized she must've followed them. Despite that, he knelt down and held out his hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Alya took his clawed hand, and he effortlessly pulled Alya up to her feet.

"I'm fine," she said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Alya, right?" Cat Noir asked, feigning not knowing who she was.

"Oui," Alya said, her voice shaking a little bit. She was nervous about what they were going to do to her. Alya knew they wouldn't actually hurt her, but it was still nerve-wracking. Normally she loved being face to face with her favorite heroes, but in a situation like the one she was in really rattled her.

"The girl who runs the Ladyblog," he stated. "I'm a big fan of your work. Though you do seem to have a pretty glaring lack of mentions of a certain devilishly handsome black suited superhero."

Ladybug rolled her eyes at him. "Cat, can you go at least five minutes without bragging about your looks?"

He pretended to think about it for a second, then shrugged. "Nah, I don't think so."

Ladybug sighed and shook her head at him. Alya thought their interaction was vaguely familiar. Even though she knew the obvious answer to it, it wasn't the one that satisfied her. She had seen the two of them bicker and flirt back and forth during battles, but this was different. It reminded her of something, but she couldn't pinpoint what.

"So, Alya, what are you doing here? It's a bit late for a stroll," Ladybug asked.

"I followed you guys here," Alya said shamelessly. "I've been waiting weeks for a good scoop like this." She lifted up her camera and pointed it up at them. "So, who's this Lillian person? Is she someone the citizens of Paris need to know about? Has a new super-villain come to take Hawkmoth's place and wreak havoc upon our great city?"

Cat Noir and Ladybug shared a quick glance. Neither of them had a good answer for Alya.

"She is not someone you need to concern yourself with, young lady," Master Fu said, walking up to stand between the superheroes.

"So why did Ladybug say that's why they were here? Are they training to fight against her?" Alya queried. "And if they are training to fight her, why do I not need to worry about her?"

"The reason as to why they are here is not something you need to know, Alya," Master Fu said. "If you needed to know, you would know."

Alya grimaced at his cryptic answer. She got a feeling he was like that a lot, especially with the small grin that appeared on his face.

"Okay, that was very helpful," Alya found herself saying. It was a bit more sarcastic than she would've liked it to come out, but it got the point across.

"How long have you been recording?" Ladybug asked.

"The entire time," Alya answered warily. "Why?"

Ladybug sighed, and she knew her next words were going to be hard to say. "I'm sorry, Alya," Ladybug began, "but we can't let you post it."

"What?" Alya exclaimed. "No!"

"I'm so sorry. It would be very bad if that video got out to the public," the spotted superhero continued.

"What would happen?"

"You really don't want to know," Cat Noir said in a very grave tone.

Alya knew they were serious when Cat Noir looked and sounded that grave.

"I promise I won't post it," Alya said. "Can I at least show my best friend? There's no way I'd be able to keep this a secret from her."

Master Fu nodded. "If you must, but she must be the only one you tell." He didn't regret letting Alya tell her best friend, especially since her best friend was standing right across from her. Ladybug did her best to hide her guilt. She had never felt worse than when she did at that moment.

"I promise.… Am I allowed to leave?" she asked a little cautiously.

All three of them nodded, and Alya left quickly. Once she was outside, Ladybug sighed and relaxed.

"That was a close one," she said with a sigh.

"She is very persistent that Alya," Master Fu said. "She would certainly do anything to get a story."

"You can say that again," said Ladybug with a smile.

Master Fu smiled back. "That should be enough for tonight. You two have done well. We will meet back here Friday at the same time." He bowed and the superheroes bowed back. Master Fu swung his cane onto his shoulder and started walking out of the stadium.

"So how about a walk home, my lady?" Cat Noir suggested with a smile and a wink.

Ladybug grinned. "I'd love to walk you home, Cat Noir."

His cat eyes went wide as she turned his flirt around on him. He still wasn't used to it. She chuckled at his reaction. He smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, what type of cat would I be if I was to turn down an offer from such a beautiful girl?" Cat Noir asked.

"A pretty dumb one," she said.

Cat Noir didn't look amused. "Let's just get home, LB. I could use long cat nap."

"One more cat joke and you can walk yourself," Ladybug said as she swung her yo-yo up and hooked it securely. She pulled on it once and it retracted.

"Aw! Come on, bugaboo! I didn't mean to. It was just out of habit," Cat Noir said as he used his staff to vault himself after his girlfriend. He landed next to her on the roof of the stadium. "Would it be better if a-paw-logized?"

Ladybug gave him a deadpan look and then started swinging her yo-yo. "That's it. I'm out of here," she said as she hooked her yo-yo up on a nearby chimney.

She left Cat Noir standing on the roof of the stadium. He wasn't fazed by her departure at all. He just smiled. Cat Noir vaulted himself in the direction Ladybug went. He caught up with her easily since she had stopped at the Eiffel Tower. She was up at the very top in the same place they met before patrols. She was sitting on the metal with her legs hanging out over the edge.

"I think you're more sensitive to my puns when you're in costume," he told her as he came to sit next to her.

Ladybug smiled. "I think you're right," she said. "Or maybe I'm just hitting my pun limit."

"That wasn't even my best pun," he said with a cocky smile. "I have dozens more in store." He opened his mouth to start listing them off, but then she put her index finger to his lips to quiet him.

"How about a rain check?" she asked as she pulled her finger away.

He smiled sheepishly. "Whatever you say, my lady."

"Alya got too close tonight," Ladybug said. "If we're not more careful she'll figure out who we are within the week. She's already suspected us multiple times. Any more evidence and she'll know for sure."

"Are you sure you don't want her to know?" Cat Noir asked. "Wouldn't it be easier?"

Ladybug shrugged. "Probably, but it's not just our identities I want to protect. I want to protect her. Lillian probably knows about her, but as long as Alya doesn't know about Lillian then she'll be safe."

"Maybe after this is all over we could tell her and Nino," Cat Noir suggested.

The idea sounded good to Ladybug at first, but then her mind started to overthink it. It was the same thing that happened back when she fantasized about going on a date with Adrien. Her lovesick brain would dream up the worse scenarios that always ended with her not dating Adrien and usually embarrassed beyond belief. This time, with Alya, she kept imagining that her best friend would feel betrayed and not talk to her ever again. It was something that she had feared multiple times before, mainly when she thought about telling Alya the truth. That idea of betraying Alya has kept Ladybug from revealing her true identity.

"Are you overthinking things again?" Cat Noir asked. "She's not going to feel betrayed, Ladybug."

She looked up at him. "How do you know? Practically the entire time I've known her, I've lied to her. How would you feel if the entire time you'd known someone they had been lying to you?"

"I wouldn't feel great about it," he said, "but I would understand. I'm sure Alya would, too."

Ladybug looked down towards the ground. Everything looked so small from so high up, but never once has she felt afraid.

"I hope you're right, Cat," she sighed. "Speaking of Alya, she'll be wanting to talk to me about the stadium. I probably have a dozen messages waiting for me."

"Would you like an escort back to your home, my lady?"

"I believe I can handle myself, Cat Noir," Ladybug said. She leaned over and gave him a deep kiss. "I love you, kitty. I'll see you in the morning."

"I love you, too, Princess. Good night."

Cat Noir watched dreamily as she stood up and threw her yo-yo off into the night. Ladybug noticed his expression and smiled to herself. So that was how he looked every time she left after one of his flirty advances on her. After all that time of being in love and not having it reciprocated would've turned anyone bitter, but it just made him more kindhearted.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

As soon as Alya left the stadium she started making a beeline for Marinette's, but she barely made it a block before exhaustion crept in. With a giant yawn, she changed direction and started heading back home. Spreading the news would have to wait until she got some sleep.

The next morning, after getting ready hurriedly, Alya ran to catch Marinette before she left for school. She knew that Adrien normally met up with her there about fifteen minutes before class, and in order to catch her alone she would have to get there before he did.

Alya came in through the front bakery entrance, and Marinette's parents waved to her as she went through to the staircase.

"Marinette!" she called as she climbed up to Marinette's room. "You will never believe what happened to me!" Alya threw open the trap door into her best friend's room. Marinette was just brushing through her hair when Alya arrived. At Alya's sudden arrival Marinette whirled around with a startled expression.

"Alya! Text me first!" Marinette said. "You're going to give me a heart attack."

"Sorry, girl, but you will never believe what I saw last night!" Alya said excitedly.

"What'd you see?" Marinette asked, her eyes wide with interest.

"Well, for this to make sense, I have to start at the beginning," Alya began. Once she was sure she had Marinette's attention, Alya launched into her tale about what had happened. She began with her waking up, continued through her adventure in spying on the superheroes, and ended with her leaving the stadium with a promise not to post the video. By the end, Marinette looked thoroughly impressed.

"I just want to know who that man was," Alya mused, "and who Lillian is. There's so many things happening at once; I just know it can't all be a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.

"Think about it," Alya said. "Suddenly, there's a string of robberies around France that all seem to be connected to some strange woman. The items stolen all have similar writing which resembles the writing on the tablets at the British Museum. Then I find out that Ladybug and Cat Noir are doing secret training sessions to prepare themselves against someone named Lillian. It has to be connected."

Marinette shrugged. "I don't know, Alya. Some of it seems like a bit of a stretch."

"How could you say that?!" Alya exclaimed. "Something is going on in this city, and I am going to be more determined than ever to figure it out! At the center of it are Ladybug and Cat Noir. Everything that has happened has happened around them. They are at the center of it all."

"Well, I'm sure after your intrusion on their training session, they're going to be more careful to keep unwanted visitors from disturbing them," Marinette told her.

"That won't stop me," Alya stated. "I wouldn't be a good journalist if I didn't get the whole story."

"I wish you luck, Alya," Marinette said with a smile. She went to go grab her bag since class would be starting soon.

Alya smiled proudly. "I won't need luck. I already have a bit of the translation of the tablets."

Marinette fumbled with her notebooks at Alya's words. Alya didn't notice anything off, especially since it wasn't uncommon for Marinette to drop things, but if Alya was paying attention she would've noticed the panicked expression on Marinette's face.

"You do? How?" Marinette asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Jalil, remember?" Alya said obviously. "I told you that I was asking for his help in translating the tablets. He and his colleagues have already translated part of it, and it's pretty interesting. Do you wanna read it?"

"Why not?" she asked quickly, hoping Alya wouldn't notice her voice shaking.

Alya dug through her bag and pulled out the translation Jalil gave her. She handed it to Marinette who took it from her with shaking hands. That time Alya noticed something was off with her best friend.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Alya asked worriedly. "You're not getting sick again, are you?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm fine. Low blood sugar I guess. I haven't eaten yet," Marinette said as she took the papers from Alya. Marinette willed her hands to stop shaking as she held them in her hands. "I'll read this on the way. Let's go."

She knew that walking would help her hands stop from shaking. Alya kept an eye on her best friend as they walked down to the main floor of the building. She knew that Marinette was an accident waiting to happen, and if she wasn't paying a hundred percent attention she would certainly trip over something.

Marinette read through the translation quickly. It was very close to what Amelia had given them. A few words were different, but they had similar meanings so it was to be accepted. Overall, the translations were very alike and told the same thing. Whoever helped Jalil translate them was very good. In the back of her mind Marinette thought that they needed a raise. It mentioned the Shadow Witch, another name for Lillian, and told the tale of how the Ladybug and Cat Noir of that time beat her. It didn't go any further though. It cut off right before it mentioned the Menes Set and the ritual used to break them apart. Marinette was thankful for that, but she knew that the people translating wouldn't stop until all of them were translated.

"This is pretty impressive," Marinette said once she was finished. They had reached the school a couple minutes before and were hanging out by the steps. "It's definitely interesting."

"It's more than interesting; it's earth-shattering!" Alya exclaimed. "This is going to blow everyone's mind! Just wait until I post this." She plucked the pages from Marinette's hands, which didn't give much of a fight.

Marinette's eyes went wide at Alya's comment. She froze and stared at Alya for a few solid seconds before she was able to move again.

"You're posting that?" Marinette asked, her voice obviously shaking. She wasn't even trying to hide it.

Alya shrugged. "Yeah. Why do you ask?" Marinette didn't answer, and with her silence Alya looked up, concerned. "Marinette, are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Marinette shook her head slightly. "No, I'm fine. It's just… remember the last time someone translated an ancient script? You were almost sacrificed."

Alya flippantly waved her hand. "That's ancient history. Besides, what's the harm in posting this? It's just a story of a battle fought years ago. It's probably one of the most descriptive ancient battle stories there is besides _The Iliad_. You have to admit it's very riveting."

Marinette had to agree with that. Despite the fact she read it with shaky hands, the story was very interesting. Marinette knew that if Alya posted it though, it would bring her to the center of the limelight and in the center of danger. Marinette thought about making Alya promise not to post it, but she wouldn't have a good enough reason without revealing her identity.

When their boyfriends arrived Marinette immediately grabbed Adrien's hand and pulled him aside to talk to him privately. She led him to a shady tree next to the steps. It was surprisingly quiet there and was very secluded.

"Are you okay, Princess?" Adrien asked. "You look worried."

"Alya has the first part of the tablets translated," Marinette said immediately. "She got help from Jalil and his coworkers. She's planning on posting it soon."

"But once she does Lillian will set her sights on Alya," Adrien said. "This is worse than if she posted that video from last night."

"I think I'd prefer the video."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

Marinette nodded. "Not without telling her who we really are. I'm sure she's already suspicious enough with me freaking out every time she mentions the tablets. If we give her vague and non-specific reasons to not post the translations she'll probably figure it out."

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them his expression was the same as before. "Come on, let's get to class before they start getting suspicious," Adrien said.

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "I think the only thing they're going to suspect is a hot make-out session, kitty."

"Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint them, do we?" he asked with a playful gleam in his eye.

Marinette rolled her eyes at him but she was smiling. "Of course we wouldn't," she said. She placed a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down to her level to make it easier to kiss him. Adrien kissed her back quickly and passionately. He placed his hands on her waist to lightly press her against his body. She fit against him perfectly, almost like they were made for each other. Marinette smiled against his lips as he deepened their kiss. She felt him wrap his arms tightly around her waist and easily lift her off her feet, making it so he didn't have to bend down to kiss her. She gasped at the sudden motion but then chuckled. Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and kissed him again.

"I hate to interrupt," Alya said, coming up beside them, "but class is about to start."

Marinette blushed deeply as Adrien set her down with a small chuckle.

"Oh, right, I guess we forgot," he said with a sheepish smile and a hand rubbing the back of his head.

"Let's get you two lovebirds in class before you're tardy again," Nino said with a slight headshake.

* * *

That night Alya sat at her computer writing up the blog post for the translation. Marinette's reaction was still on Alya's mind. It was odd, even for Marinette. She was normally very supportive of Alya's Ladybug investigations, but that time was different. Even though Alya didn't mention it at the time, she saw something very wrong with Marinette's reactions. Marinette looked… frightened.

Alya tried to shake it off, but the way her best friend reacted kept popping up in her mind. She looked over at the pages with the translation on it. At first she thought that Marinette was just overreacting, but maybe there was something to her fear. The rest of the tablet was a ritual, what if it was something worse than Tutankhamun's spell? Marinette never overreacted for no reason. Still, the translation she had so far wasn't anything close to a ritual or a spell. It was just a story. Alya couldn't find any reason not to post it, but Marinette certainly did.

Alya finished the blog post, but she didn't put it up online. Alya decided to sleep on it. If she still felt apprehensive about it in the morning, Alya would just post another ladybug fact piece. She had dozens of those saved on her computer as back-up posts.

She closed out of her blog and opened up the local news. There was nothing new about Ladybug or Cat Noir, but there was a mention in the Twitter feed about seeing them doing patrol. That wasn't anything unusual. She checked the international news after that, and saw that there were more artifacts stolen from private collectors and museums around the world. They were all connected in one way or another, which meant they were connected to the tablets at the British Museum.

Alya's curiosity was starting to reach new heights. She already knew thanks to the news that all of the artifacts that had been stolen thus far were parts of a larger piece. It was very possible that the ones who had been taken most recently were also from the same larger piece.

Alya definitely felt like she was missing some very important details. It was all connected, that she knew for sure, but it was difficult for her to see exactly how and why. Maybe translating the rest of the tablet would give her the answers she needed.

The next morning, Alya wasn't any more apprehensive about posting the translation. If Marinette wasn't going to tell her why she shouldn't, then it couldn't be that bad. Alya opened up her blog and posted the translation with no hesitation. Satisfied, Alya finished getting ready for the day.

* * *

Tikki was awake a good hour before Marinette was. The little Kwami had a very bad feeling and wasn't sure why. As she had been doing almost every morning lately, Tikki went on the Internet to look up the latest news posts. Most of them were highlighting a string of robberies around the world that had happened almost simultaneously. Tikki looked at the pictures of the items stolen, and her stomach dropped at the sight the rest of the pieces of the Menes Set. Lillian had almost all of them. Even though they were creating a plan to stop her, it was still disheartening to see that nothing was slowing Lillian down. She would have everything she needed before they knew it.

Marinette woke up with a groan. She stretched to work out some of the kinks. As she was doing so she saw Tikki at her computer. Tikki didn't look good. She was staring at the screen gravely. From where Marinette was she couldn't see what was making Tikki so upset, but it looked like she was staring at a news site.

"Tikki, what's wrong?" Marinette asked, coming up to see what the Kwami was staring at.

"More pieces of the Menes Set have been found," Tikki said.

Marinette sat down in her desk chair and started clicking on the pictures Tikki had pulled up. Marinette grimaced at the sight of all the pieces. Each of them had writing similar to the tablets. There was no doubting they were part of the Menes Set.

"Looking at these isn't going to do us any good, Tikki," Marinette said, closing all of the pictures. She knew exactly how the little red Kwami felt, but normally it was Tikki who had to be the voice of reason. "We already know that we can't stop her from finding all the pieces, so we're going to have to do it another way, remember?"

"I know, Marinette, but you weren't there the last time Lillian fought against a Ladybug and Cat Noir," Tikki told Marinette. "It was horrible and had disastrous consequences."

"What kind of consequences?" Marinette asked warily. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"It was like a natural disaster. Many lives were lost that day," Tikki said gravely. Marinette had become solemn by Tikki's words, but she couldn't help but feel like there was more to the story, something Tikki didn't want to tell her.

"Tikki, what else happened?" Marinette urged.

Tikki took in a deep breath, steeling herself for the awful truth. "Plagg and I both lost our charges that day," she murmured. Marinette inhaled a small gasp then put her hand over her mouth in shock. "They stopped Lillian, but at a very steep cost. They gave their lives to save not only the town but the world."

"Oh my gosh," Marinette breathed. "That's horrible.… You don't think that is what's going to happen to me and Adrien, do you?"

Tikki looked down gravely, which wasn't a good sign to Marinette. "Marinette, I'm not sure what's going to happen," Tikki said. "All I know is what is in the past."

Marinette ran her hands through her hair. "And the past does not foreshadow well, does it?"

Tikki lightly stroked Marinette's arm comfortingly. "I'm afraid not."

Marinette sighed and then looked up at her computer one more time. She was about to close out of the browser when an open tab caught her eye. Marinette didn't remember opening up the Ladyblog the night before. Perhaps it was Tikki? Marinette clicked on it and it brought up her latest post.

At first she just thought it was another post about the tablets since that was what the picture was, but as she read the content her jaw started to drop.

"She posted the translation?" Marinette breathed. "Oh no. This is not good. This is super not good. Why would she do that?!"

Marinette was starting to freak out. Chances were that Lillian had already read that post. Would Alya still be alive by the end of the day? Marinette wanted to be hopeful, but it was hard for her. Marinette knew how scared Amelia was when Cat Noir went to talk her, and Marinette definitely knew how powerful Lillian was from Cat Noir's first battle with her. Though Marinette wasn't sure it could actually be called a battle since from his description it was more of a skirmish, if that.

"If she knew the danger this put her in…," Marinette muttered. Her sentence started to falter towards the end. Of course Alya didn't know of the dangers. How could she? Alya didn't know the truth behind the tablets, nor the power they could bring. She also had no idea that Lillian even existed, or that she was a witch. How could she? Marinette never told her, and there was no way she could tell her without giving up her secret. Marinette was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

* * *

The sun shone down brightly on the patio of a chateau just outside Paris. A woman with dark hair was laid out on a chaise lounge. She had forgone her usual business suit and opted for wearing an eyelet lace sundress more worthy of the warmer temperatures. In her hands was a top-of-the-line tablet. She was scrolling through pages of documents making sure her plans were still going off without a hitch. Lillian smiled when she saw how smoothly everything was going. She only had a few more pieces of the Set to take before it was complete. The map had been in her possession for months, and was stored safely in one of her vaults beneath the chateau. Ladybug and Cat Noir were still in the dark about the actual location of the map. Lillian was sure that the young superheroes still believed she was searching for it.

Everything had been going so well for her that she even decided to have a bit of fun with them. She had planted a bit of persuasion into a young, blonde girl she knew would threaten the relationship between the superheroes. Sadly, it didn't go exactly as planned. The blonde girl had overcome the persuasion quickly. Lillian didn't know why exactly. Perhaps it was the past akumatization, acting as a vaccine against outside influence. Even though it was enjoyable watching the blonde girl try break up Adrien and Marinette, it didn't last long as the persuasion wore off.

"Mistress?" One of her loyal guards asked from a respectful distance away.

"Yes, Jacque?" Lillian requested, looking up from the tablet. Jacque stood by her side holding another tablet. His expression wasn't a happy one. Perhaps one of the missions she had sent out went awry. It was no problem. She had a large number of followers, all of whom were well-trained, and a new team could be sent out within the hour.

"Well, madam, you asked me to keep an eye on the young girl's blog, the Ladyblog, and she made a new post this morning," Jacque told her.

"And what did the post say?" Lillian asked, starting to get bored.

"Well, um, she managed to get a translation of the tablet," he said.

That captured Lillian's attention. She looked up at Jacque with an eyebrow raised. He took an automatic step back at the fury in her glowing eyes.

"How exactly did she manage to get a translation?" Lillian asked in a controlled voice.

"The girl mentions one person by name, but she also says that he had help with some coworkers in the Louvre."

Lillian knew that this was always a possibility. Even though she managed to control Amelia, the tablets were still on display. Though she never expected anyone to translate it that quickly.

"Hand me the tablet," Lillian ordered.

Jacque quickly gave up the tablet to Lillian. He was slightly relieved to have it out of his hands.

Lillian quickly read over the blog post. She was impressed at the accuracy of the translation. It only varied somewhat from the translation Amelia had provided. Lillian kept reading through the words. It stopped before it had any mention of the Menes Set and the ritual. For that she was glad, but she knew that if the girl was able to get that much of the translation she had access to the rest. Of course, why act too early? Even if the girl did figure out the rest of the tablet, there was no way she could derive Lillian's plans.

"Keep an eye on the girl for now," Lillian ordered Jacque. "Observe, but do not approach. If she does something that seems to be a danger to my plans, inform me and I will give instructions on what to do. Understand?"

" _Oui_ , madam," Jacque said. He took the tablet from her and left the patio leaving Lillian alone with her thoughts.

She knew that Alya Césaire was not a priority. Despite her friendship with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the young journalist was not aware of the heroine's true identity. Lillian could not believe that little fact. It seemed so obvious, but, then again, it had been said that the best hiding place was in plain sight. Her true priority was that Jalil fellow. She had heard of him before, but only as his alter ego the Pharaoh. She was impressed at how close he had come to succeeding in his mission to bring his love back from the dead. Though, in the end, Ladybug and Cat Noir still succeeded in defeating him and capturing the akuma.

Lillian stood up and began walking towards the front door of the chateau. She snapped her fingers as she walked and her white sundress was replaced by a gray and blue power suit. She snapped her fingers again and was transported instantly to the front of the Louvre. The glass Pyramid loomed above her, glowing in the bright sunlight.

She walked in to the museum and easily found her way to the offices. Jalil was easy enough to find. His office was conveniently labeled with a sign on his door. She walked in and saw that Jalil wasn't the only one in the room. It was a shared office. Jalil's desk stood out from all of them. One, he was actually sitting at the desk; two, his was the most cluttered out of all them in the room. Though, as Lillian looked more at the mess she could see some method through the madness.

"Jalil Kubdel?" she asked in a sweet, song-like voice.

"Yes?" he asked, looking up at the sound of her voice. Immediately he noticed the strangeness of her eyes, but he didn't say anything. Despite her eyes, she had an entrancing beauty, but Jalil couldn't make out her age. She looked young, but felt old. "May I help you?"

"Maybe," she continued in the same voice. "I noticed on the Ladyblog this morning that _you_ helped with the translation on the tablet?"

Despite the strangeness of the situation, Jalil couldn't help but feel a bit proud. " _Oui_. I did, as well as a few of my friends. It was a group effort."

Lillian smiled sweetly. She deftly moved a few things around on his desk before sitting down in the space she cleared. "Oh, I'm sure it was, but of course you would've had the biggest input. I mean, it was your name mentioned in the blog."

"I would love to say that," Jalil told her, "but my focus is Ancient Egypt. These tablets, though similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics, were still a mystery to me. It was only with my friends' help that we were able to provide the girl with the translation."

"You are very modest, Jalil," Lillian continued to say. "I like that. You can't say that about everyone you meet."

Jalil seemed to snap out of it for a moment. He slightly shook his head, and his eyes were clearer than before. " _Excusez-moi_ , _mademoiselle,_ but what did you come here for?"

"I am very interested in ancient history," Lillian told him honestly. "It was just one of those dreams that fell by the wayside, I guess. So, you can see how those tablets are of interest to me. Is there any way you happen to have more of the translation? What is on the blog is interesting and all, but I want to know more. Could you help me out a bit, Jalil?" She reached forward and lightly brushed her fingers across his cheek. It was only for a moment, but she was able to plant a bit of her persuasion into him.

Even though Jalil was more than willing to help, Lillian could see the disappointment in his eyes. "I'm sorry, _mademoiselle_ , but I'm afraid that the second half of the translating is going much slower than the first half. It seems to be much more involved than before. There are rituals and spells and artifacts. We don't know yet what they all mean exactly, but in a few days, maybe a couple weeks, we should have most of it translated."

"That's too bad," Lillian said in a fake, sympathetic voice. "I don't suppose you could introduce me to your friends who helped translate the tablets? Maybe they'll have more information by now."

Jalil hesitated before answering her. She just smiled as she saw the gears turning in his head. Her little bit of persuasion was kicking in. It never failed.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," he finally said. "They should still be here in their office."

"Wonderful!" Lillian exclaimed. She jumped off the desk and then grabbed Jalil's hand. She pulled him to his feet excitedly. "Lead the way, Jalil."

Jalil was more than willing to lead her to his friends. He was correct in his original assumption. They were all crammed into Gregory's, head of the Asian Antiquities, office. On the table in there were the photos Jalil had given them. He could see their notebooks were filled with new notes and scribbles about the tablets.

Jalil rapped on the doorjamb to get their attention. "Sorry to interrupt," Jalil announced, "but I came to see if you have made any more progress on the tablets."

"We have made wonderful progress!" Devyn, a research assistant exclaimed. She was working on her doctorate at a local university near the museum. "You need to see what we have found out. There is so much more than just a story here."

"Really? Like what?" Jalil asked, moving forward to join the table. He looked over his colleague's notes and saw a few interesting details.

Peter, another research assistant, grabbed his notebook and set it out in front of Jalil. In the notebook were very accurate sketches of the tablets. "If you look here, these tablets are describing something very interesting. We focused our efforts on those, and together we found out that after the battle a ceremony was done."

"What type of ceremony?" Jalil asked, completely forgetting about Lillian. She didn't mind at all though. The more she was forgotten, the more she could learn. "What was done?"

"Well, the Ladybug and Cat Noir of this town," Devyn said, "battled the Shadow Witch. We know that for sure. Well, it turned out that what the Shadow Witch wanted was a cypher disk and sextant set. She needed them for something destructive, so the elders of the town broke them into dozens of pieces and scattered them around the world."

Lillian remembered that very well. She remembered the battle as if it had happened only the day before. Lillian didn't take that defeat lightly. She was so close to getting the power of the Jewel. At the very last second it was ripped away from her by Ladybug. In the process, they also stole her life-force. It took her centuries to recover, and by the time she was well enough to continue on her quest, the jewel had been hidden away with the sextant and decoder in pieces.

"Those wouldn't be the same pieces they've been talking about on the news, would they?" Jalil asked.

Devyn smiled widely. "The very same."

"That is so crazy," he stated breathlessly. "It is all connected. Everything that has been going on lately, it's all connected."

"If you don't mind staying, we could use some help with the translations," Gregory requested. "Of course if you're busy…" He glanced over at Lillian, who had been hovering on the fringes the entire time.

"Oh!" Jalil exclaimed. He had completely forgotten about her. "I'm so sorry, Lillian. We were totally ignoring you."

Lillian smiled. "It's fine, Jalil. I got everything I needed."

"Oh! Well, wonderful then," he said slightly surprised. "Would like me to walk you out?"

Lillian smiled. "No thank you, Jalil. I can find my way. You all have been most helpful."

"Well I'm glad we could be of help. I suppose I'll see you around?"

"I suppose you will," she said with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

Jalil watched as she sauntered out of the room. Once Lillian was gone, his mind seemed to clear. He began to wonder who she was, and why she was so interested in the tablets. Jalil wasn't even sure why he had told her the things he did. She seemed so trusting and nice. He began to question himself more as he worked on the translations with his coworkers. For the first time, he felt like they were being watched. His coworkers didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. They didn't have a reason to, and neither did he. So why was he so worried?

* * *

Lillian left the archival room thoroughly satisfied. She had gotten everything she needed from Jalil and more. From this she knew what she had to do. Once Lillian reached an empty area of the museum she teleported back to her chateau.

They didn't question her; they never did. They were under her command completely.

"What time are we leaving?" Jacque asked her.

"Just get everything ready," she said mysteriously. "If you need me, you know how to find me."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Alya rubbed the back of her neck as she sat in the school's courtyard. The prickly feeling wasn't going away, and Alya had the sneaking suspicion that someone was watching her. She looked around, but she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Alya frowned at her lack of information. Maybe if she ignored it, the feeling would go away.

"So, Alya, after school you wanted to go to the cinema?" Marinette asked, snapping Alya out of her reverie.

"Huh? Oh, right! I forgot about that," she said. "Yes, I did."

Her best friend smiled. "What movie did you want to see again? Wasn't it a romantic comedy?"

Alya nodded, glancing around one last time.

"What are you looking at?" Marinette asked.

"Nothing," Alya muttered. "Do you feel like you're being watched?"

Marinette shrugged. "No. Why, do you?"

"I'm not sure." Alya shrugged it off. She couldn't focus on that, no matter how much the feeling was bothering her. "Anyway, movies! Let's go there as soon as classes end," Alya suggested.

"Sounds good," Marinette said with a smile, but it was a blank one. Marinette let her blue eyes wander around the courtyard, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but Alya wasn't one to make things up.

* * *

On the way to the cinema, Alya received a text from Jalil. He said that he had the more of the translation ready for her.

"Marinette, wait," Alya said, lightly grabbing the arm of her best friend to stop her.

Marinette, despite the assist from Alya, still flailed her arms around as she tried to catch her balance from the sudden stop.

"What is it?" she asked once she had both feet firmly planted on the ground.

"Do you mind if we make a quick detour to the Louvre?"

"Why?"

"I just got a text from Jalil. He has more of the translation," she explained.

"Oh!" Marinette said. "Well, no. I don't mind. We can just go to the next showing, if it takes too long."

"Wonderful!" Alya exclaimed. "Come on! The Louvre is back the other way."

The two friends turned back around and headed to the nearest bus stop. The girls took the last two open seats, which just happened to be in the back of the bus. It was quite busy, but that was no surprise. The busses were usually busy up until the late-evening. Marinette glanced around at all the people surrounding them. Some of them were getting off from their jobs, others were sight-seers taking the cheap way to the sights. One person caught her eye though. It was a woman near the front of the bus. Marinette and Alya had passed her on their way to the back, but somehow she hadn't noticed her until a moment before. The woman looked familiar, but not in a good way. The familiarity sent chills down Marinette's spine.

The woman, as if sensing her gaze, turned around and locked eyes with Marinette. The young superhero froze as she recognized the woman, Lillian. Adrien was not kidding about the glowing eyes. The sight of them were deeply unsettling to her. They were unnatural.

"What are you staring at?" Alya asked, nudging her best friend.

Marinette snapped out of it. She quickly glanced at Alya, who was staring at her curiously, and then back up to the front. Lillian wasn't there. Had she imagined it? No. What she saw was not a product of her imagination.

"Nothing," Marinette muttered. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

She shrugged. "The future, I guess."

"I think about that, too. It makes you wonder where we're going to be in a few years."

"Where do you want to be?" Marinette asked.

Alya smiled. "I don't really know. I hope doing an internship for a journalism company. Investigative journalism is what I really want to do."

Marinette already knew that. Alya was relentless when it came to investigating Ladybug and Cat Noir. She would be relentless about anything she investigated.

"What about you, Marinette?"

Marinette's plans for her career hadn't changed in the slightest since taking up the ladybug Miraculous. At first, she was worried she would have to give up designing in order to be a superhero, but then things got easier. Marinette found it easier to balance school and being a superhero. She knew that she could have a career as a both a superhero and a fashion designer.

"I hope to be interning under a famous fashion designer one day after finishing design school."

Alya smiled. "You want to be the next Coco Chanel."

"No. I want to be the first Marinette Cheng."

"You've already done that, girl," Alya praised. "Now, what about you and Adrien? Do you two think you'll still be together a few years from now?"

Marinette liked the sound of them being together years from then, but she had no idea how the future was going to turn out. Were they still going to be Ladybug and Cat Noir, or would they hang up the Miraculouses? She didn't know, and Marinette both liked and disliked not-knowing. It would take a huge weight off her shoulders if she knew, but not knowing was part of the fun. If she knew she was going to be Ladybug beforehand, then it wouldn't have been as much of an adventure as it had been.

"I hope we are going to be together years from now. I really, _really_ like him, but, Alya, we're only sixteen."

"So? There are a lot of people who meet their soulmate at only sixteen. Trust me, you have found your soulmate. You two are perfect for each other. You don't even know how perfect."

"What about you and Nino?" Marinette asked, quickly getting the subject off of her. She couldn't think about the future right then, not when they might not even have a future in a couple months. "Do you think you'll be together years from now?"

Alya shrugged. "I hope so, but it all depends on where our careers take us. Nino wants to DJ professionally. He's talked about going to New York City. They have a lot of record companies over there."

Marinette smiled. "You could go with him! New York City is like _the_ place to study journalism! Even my parents get a copy of _The New York Times_."

Alya shrugged again. "I don't know, Marinette. It's just such a big change."

"But that's what makes it good!" she encouraged. "What's life without risk, and you can trust me on the risk part. I've taken more risks when it comes to Adrien than any person should."

Alya chuckled. "You can say that again," she said with a smile.

Marinette rolled her eyes and gently pushed her friend. "At least I finally got him," she said wistfully.

"Yes you did, girl," Alya said proudly. "All your incoherent noises and mismatched sentences managed to come together to create the correct words."

"Are you ever going to let me live it down?" Marinette asked.

Alya shook her head. "Nope."

Marinette rolled her eyes. She reached up and pulled the cord. "Our stop is coming up, in case you forgot why we were on this bus."

"Of course I didn't forget," Alya said.

The girls got off the bus and headed into the Louvre. Marinette followed Alya through the hallways until she found Jalil's office. Seeing him brought up the memories from her battle against his alter ego. Marinette hadn't seen Jalil since that day, but it looked like that day didn't dampen his spirits.

"Alya, glad you could you make it!" Jalil exclaimed. "I believe that what we have translated thus far will be very interesting."

Marinette stood back while Alya spoke to Jalil. She already knew exactly what Jalil was going to say, and it caused her stomach to drop to the floor.

"What'd you all figure out?"

Jalil opened up a folder and pulled out a few sheets of paper. He spread them out on his desk so he could explain them to Alya.

"So, after Ladybug and Cat Noir defeated the Shadow Witch, the elders of the town decided to hide the objects she was looking for."

"What was she looking for?" Alya asked excitedly.

Jalil gave her a sly smile. "You are never going to believe this, but she was looking for a sextant and a cypher disk." He paused for a moment to let that sink in.

Alya had to think about it for a moment, but then when it hit her she gasped. "Are you talking about the same sextant and cypher disk mentioned on the news?"

"We believe it is the very same.t The ceremony described in the tablets talks about breaking the pieces apart into dozens of pieces and scattering them to the four corners of the Earth. As we know, over the past couple of weeks items are being stolen from all over the world that seem to be connected in some way. Our theory, and it is a pretty sound one, is that these two items are connected."

Alya's eyes were wide as she took in this information. All of that was better than she could've hoped for! She _knew_ there was a connection between the stolen items and the tablets! She finally had proof!

"The robbery last week, the one where a woman was caught on camera, do you think she could be the Shadow Witch?" Alya asked.

At her words, Marinette bit her lip to keep from saying anything. She was internally freaking out over all of what she was hearing. Alya was getting way too close, as was Jalil and his coworkers. Marinette dreaded the thought of Alya posting that information on her website. Her stomach started twisting and her breath got caught in her throat. Marinette had felt fear plenty of times before, but this fear was different. This fear was a true, life or death feeling. For once, she wasn't confident that she or Cat Noir's abilities were enough to defeat the villain. She wasn't sure that anything was going to be enough. Yes, technically, Ladybug and Cat Noir had defeated her once before, but that was a different time and it also wasn't them. It was a different pair of Ladybug and Cat Noir's. They could've had different powers than them at the time, and they were probably also older than they were. She and Adrien were only sixteen. They were too young to have all that responsibility put on them, but it was their fate. Marinette wasn't afraid, however, that they wouldn't use their abilities at their fullest. She was afraid that they wouldn't be enough.

Alya and Jalil continued to talk for a few more minutes. Marinette took that chance to text Adrien and catch him up on what Alya knew. She tried to keep it as short as possible, but the text ended up being the length of paragraph.

As they left the museum, Alya was more than thrilled about what she had learned. Marinette tried her best to act innocent and to pretend she didn't know anything, but it was getting harder. Alya was so close to the truth that she basically knew everything, except how much danger she was in.

"Just think about what this means!" Alya was saying as they stood in line for tickets. "Who knows how many other cultures have mentioned Ladybug and Cat Noir!? What if someone from there decides to make an appearance? We used to think they were a one-time thing, that Hawk Moth was an anomaly, but what if he's not? Can you imagine the possibilities this means?"

"I can imagine you getting hurt," Marinette found herself saying.

"What?" Alya asked. "I'm not going to get hurt."

"You told me yourself that Ladybug and Cat Noir didn't want you to have any part of this. They are training to fight against her! No story is worth it if you get hurt, Alya."

Alya gave Marinette a strange look, but then quickly shook her head. "I'm not going to get hurt," Alya said in a hard voice. She walked up to the front of the line and bought her ticket for the movie. Marinette did the same moments later.

"And how do you know?" Marinette asked once they were away from the ticket desk. "You don't know who the Shadow Witch is."

"Neither do you!" Alya said.

Marinette froze for a second, doing her best to keep her poker face up. For a second she thought that Alya was trying to trick her, but if she was Marinette wasn't going to let it happen.

"You're right. I don't know who she is, but I do know she's not a basket full of kittens," Marinette told her. "I'm just worried for you, Alya. I don't have a good feeling about this."

Alya sighed. "I'll be fine, Marinette. I can take care of myself. Now let's just get something to drink and watch the movie."

Marinette bit her lip. She wanted to talk about it more, but decided to drop it. Marinette feared that if she kept pushing Alya she would lose her friendship. Of course, if it meant that Alya wasn't hurt or killed in their crusade against Lillian it might be worth it.

After buying their movie snacks, the girls headed over to the correct theater. Just before they walked inside Marinette turned around. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't care once she spotted someone. Leaning against the wall, almost hidden by a cardboard stand for the latest blockbuster, was Lillian. A chill went down her spine as she continued to stare at the Shadow Witch. Lillian turned to look at Marinette. Her joints stiffened and all her strength left her body as Lillian's glowing eyes continued to stare at Marinette's bluebell ones.

"Marinette? Are you okay?" Alya asked, lightly placing her hand on Marinette's shoulder.

At Alya's touch Marinette whirled around from reflex and was about to put up her fighting stance but relaxed when she recognized her best friend.

"What were you staring at?"

Marinette glanced back around to where Lillian was standing, but she wasn't there anymore. That didn't bode well.

"Nothing," Marinette whispered. "I was just lost in thought."

Alya didn't believe her at all, but she let it go. "Well, come on. All the best seats are going to be taken if we don't hurry."

"Yeah. Right," Marinette muttered distractedly. On automatic she followed Alya into the theater and to their seats. The two girls sat down and ate their movie treats in silence. Marinette was too worried about Alya's safety, and Alya's mind was making connections.

Marinette's extreme worry for Alya sent up one too many red flags in Alya's mind. Her best friend was way too worried for someone who only knew what Alya knew. Yes, Marinette had a tendency to overreact, but not like that. Marinette looked… petrified. She had never had that expression before.

One by one, the pieces started falling into place. Everything started making sense. All the strange disappearances and odd excuses, they suddenly became clear. Marinette was good at hiding her expressions, but not that good. Alya had seen Marinette's expression over the past couple weeks, even when Marinette thought she wasn't looking. It was so obvious to her now.

Alya knew the truth, though what she lacked was proof. She didn't know Marinette before Ladybug had shown up, at least not for very long. What Alya did know was that when Marinette wanted to be, she showed the same confidence as Ladybug. She could stand up to Chloe or run for class rep.

Marinette was Ladybug. It explained everything. It explained why Marinette was so adamant against Alya digging into the robberies and the Shadow Witch. Yes, Ladybug and Cat Noir had given a very cryptic and indirect warning about Lillian, whom Alya assumed to be the Shadow Witch. It was too big of a coincidence for them to be two separate people, but Marinette didn't know about the warning. Alya never told it to her. She mentioned that they didn't want her posting the video, but not about digging into Lillian. Only Ladybug could've known that information.

Alya looked over at Marinette. She wasn't paying attention to her. Marinette had a faraway look in her eyes and was looking directly ahead at the screen currently showing advertisements. Her eyes, her pigtails, her height, everything about her was the same. She glanced at the black earrings on her ears. They had to be the Miraculous. How did she not see it before?

A part of Alya wanted to be mad at Marinette for keeping such a big secret, but she immediately knew why Marinette had to. Alya hadn't exactly been the biggest supporter of keeping Ladybug's identity secret, and if Lillian or the Shadow Witch or whoever was as dangerous as Marinette was making it out to be then having Alya know put her in danger.

Alya's mind was spinning with this new information. She desperately wanted to say something, but at the same time she didn't. Alya had to wait for the right time. This kind of information wasn't something said right before the latest tear-jerker romance was about to show. It was big news, the biggest Alya had ever found out in her life, and yet Alya couldn't find the words to express it.

Together, the two best friends watched the movie in silence. Neither of them were in the mood for a movie anymore, but they were committed to sit through it. Once the movie ended, they gathered their things and left in silence.

"Okay. It's official. I don't like romance movies," Marinette finally said, about a block away from the theater. "At least sappy ones like that." She was ready to break the silence. It was becoming deafening to her, and she wasn't even sure why Alya was being quiet. They've had worse fights than the one they had before the movie started. Alya was a bit quiet during the movie, but she could've just been thinking about what she learned at the Louvre.

"Why? Things not going well in the _love_ department?" Alya asked, momentarily forgetting that the person she was talking to was a superhero.

Marinette smiled. "No. Things are going very well in the love department. It's the fact that these movies usually have the relationship end badly that I don't like."

"Well, I can certainly say that you and Adrien are much more interesting than any romance movie," Alya said.

"Thanks, Alya. Adrien's going to get a kick out of that."

Alya chuckled, but her heart wasn't in it. She suddenly wondered if Adrien knew. How could he not know? And how did Adrien feel about Cat Noir flirting with Marinette all the time? Granted, their flirting was harmless and never lead to anything, but it had to bring up some jealously. Adrien was usually reserved, but he was still human.

The girls jumped at the sound of police sirens coming towards them. They turned around saw a half dozen police cars rush by them and made a quick turn at the corner.

"That's in the direction of the Louvre," Marinette said.

"Let's go check it out," Alya said excitedly. "Come on!"

Within minutes the girls were at the Louvre, but it wasn't how they were used to seeing it. There were dozens of police cars and ambulances all centered around one of the side entrances. Marinette took in a small gasp when she realized that was the entrance nearest to the Asian Antiquities. Marinette did not have a good feeling.

Alya pushed her way forward until she was right at the edge of the police line. Marinette hesitated, but did the same thing. She recognized a few of the police officers from her times wearing the mask, but others were unknown to her. The flashing lights from the cars were bright in the dim light from dusk. It was like a scene out of those American cop TV shows.

"What's going on?" Alya asked one of the other bystanders.

"I'm not sure, but I think someone was murdered," he said.

Alya nodded and turned her head back towards the scene in front of them. Marinette desperately wanted to go and see what happened, but she couldn't do it with Alya right there. She felt Tikki flying around in her bag, and Marinette knew exactly how she felt.

Marinette recognized the sound of Cat Noir's baton hitting the stone ground. He came from over their heads and landed lithely on his feet in the center of the action. Marinette was itching to join him. She saw him look around, but after a moment he went over to Lieutenant Roger and immediately started speaking with him.

Suddenly, Alya grasped Marinette's hand and pulled her away from the crowd.

"Alya? What are you doing?" Marinette asked.

Alya sighed and then started pacing. Marinette stood there watching Alya do what Marinette normally did.

"Is everything okay?" Marinette asked after a moment.

Alya shook her head. "No. Everything is not okay, and we're going to talk about it later, but right now you need to go in there and join Cat Noir."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"I know, Marinette, I know who you really are," Alya said. "I can't believe that I didn't see it before, it seems so obvious now. I know you're Ladybug."

For a moment Marinette was speechless, and then all she could form were incoherent noises. It took her a couple of moments to gather her thoughts enough to form a real sentence.

"Alya, that's insane!" Marinette said, though she wasn't sure why she was protesting it anymore.

"No, it's not, and don't even try to deny it, girl. You'd just be insulting my intelligence. Now go hide behind a tree or something and go join your partner in fighting crime."

Marinette hesitated. There was so much she wanted to say, but there were more important things to deal with.

"I'll explain everything," Marinette promised.

"You'd better," Alya said.

Marinette turned and ran behind an advertisement that would keep her away from the main crowd of people. She opened up her bag and out Tikki flew.

"How did she find out?" Tikki asked.

Marinette shook her head. "I don't know, Tikki, but we can deal with that later. Right now, spots on!"

She felt the rush of power as Tikki's god-like powers energized her. She felt the transformation swirl around her, magically erasing her clothes and putting in its place the red and black spotted suit which kept her from physical harm. She felt herself get stronger, and immediately her hand went to her yo-yo. She swung it and hooked the yo-yo around a spire at the top of the Louvre and used it to vault herself over the crowd of onlookers to where the police were.

"Ladybug, glad you could drop by," Cat Noir said with a smirk.

She wasn't even in the mood to be annoyed by his puns, something which Cat Noir noticed.

"So catch me up. What's going on?" Ladybug asked. "I heard on the news someone was killed?" She hated saying the word. It was a confirmation that all their fears were coming true.

"As I was telling Cat Noir here," Lieutenant Roger said, "we've been withholding certain information from the reporters. Yes, there was someone killed here, but it wasn't just one person. It was a massacre."

Ladybug took in small gasp.

"Yeah," Cat Noir said. "That was what I said."

"Though, if I'm being honest, I'm not sure what you two can do here."

"We might have a lead on who is responsible," she said.

The lieutenant sighed. "If you two really want to go see the crime scene, I'll let you in, but it's not going to be pretty."

"We can handle it," Cat Noir said.

"Alright. Follow me."

The superheroes followed behind Lieutenant Roger as they were led into the building. The more they walked through the building, the more Ladybug's dread grew. She had been in that same exact area only a couple hours earlier.

She leaned in close to whisper in Cat's ear. "I have a feeling I know who was killed."

"Who?" Cat Noir asked in the same hushed tone as his girlfriend.

She hesitated. "You know the people that gave Alya her information about the tablets?"

His face paled at her words. "You're saying that Lillian killed them because they gave Alya the translation?"

"I think so," Ladybug answered.

"Then, how come Alya isn't… you know?"

Ladybug shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm just glad she's safe… for now. Speaking of Alya, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but Lieutenant Roger spoke up before she could say anything. They were stopped at a corner, one she recognized. Ladybug's stomach dropped all the way to the floor. She had been there only hours before. It was hard for her to come to terms with.

"You might want to brace yourselves," he said. "It's gruesome in there."

Ladybug and Cat Noir shared a look, and then gave a slight nod.

"We're good," she said.

"Alright." He led them around the corner and to the crime scene. There was police tape sectioning off the area, and there were about six officers doing various things. Ladybug noticed some flashes coming from the room. As they were led past the tape and into the crime scene, she steeled herself for what she was about to see.

To say it was gruesome would be an understatement. Even though she expected something horrible, she wasn't prepared for what she saw. She swallowed back some bile that threatened to escape and gingerly took steps through the room. The crime scene investigators had in a way flagged off some safe areas to walk. As she walked around, examining the faces of the people who had been killed, she felt herself get sicker and sicker as she recognized them. There was no doubt these were the employees who had helped Jalil with the translation, but Jalil was nowhere to be found. For that she was glad, especially since he was the brother of one of her friends, but that didn't lessen the horror of what was in front of her.

Cat Noir, when he first walked in, almost ran right back out. He almost couldn't take in what he saw, but he stood strong. He glanced over at Ladybug, who indeed looked horrified, but not for the same reason he was. She was looking at the victims with… almost a type of sadness. Did she know them? She did mention that she needed to talk to him, was it about this?

He sighed and did a cursory examination of the room. His cat eyes thankfully could pick up more than his regular eyes could, but what caught his eye was definitely visible with normal human vision.

"Ladybug, look," he called, pointing in the direction of what he saw.

Ladybug looked up to the wall directly across from her. On the wall, written in blood, was a message. Except it wasn't in French, or in English, or in any discernible language. In fact, if she wasn't mistaken, it looked like the hieroglyphs on the tablets.

"Lieutenant, do you know what that means?" she asked, pointing up at the foreign words scrawled across the wall.

"I'm afraid not, but we have put our best code analyzers on it."

She sighed quietly. She wasn't sure that any code analyzer was going to have any luck, though most languages were technically just a type of code. She thought back to the slip of paper with the tablet's translation on it. Together, with Tikki and Plagg's help the four of them could probably get most of message translated.

A few moments after that, the Lieutenant escorted them away from the crime scene and out the building. Once Ladybug was outside she immediately spotted Alya in the crowd. The young journalist had managed to fight her way through to the front of the crowd. The two girls locked eyes for a moment, and then Alya turned away. Marinette frowned at the sight of her best friend leaving. She knew that her room wasn't going to be empty when she got there, but first she had to tell Cat Noir.

Together, the young superheroes swung and vaulted away from the crime scene at the Louvre and headed to their favorite spot in Paris. Once up at the Eiffel Tower Cat Noir sat down and let his legs dangle over the edge, but Ladybug was too anxious to sit down. She started pacing back and forth, making Cat Noir anxious in return.

"Will you stop with the pacing? You're going to wear a path right through the metal," Cat Noir said.

She immediately stopped. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"What's gotten you so anxious? Cat got your tongue?"

She was too distracted to even care about his joke, which immediately caught his attention.

"Whoa, you must be worried if you don't even scold me for a bad joke. What is it? You said you wanted to tell me something earlier." He stood up and walked over to her. He grabbed her hands and gently held them in his.

"I did."

"Then what is it? You can tell me anything."

"It's about Alya, and also about the massacre," she began.

"Did you and Alya go to see them earlier? Was that why you looked so freaked out?"

"That's part of it," she said.

"Because what we saw back there was horrible enough and having just met them would make it ten times—"

"Adrien, Alya knows," she said, interrupting him mid-sentence. "She knows I'm Ladybug."

Cat Noir froze at her words. It took a moment to process what she said, and even longer to realize that she used his real name. His thumbs had been stroking the back of her hands, and the moment the words left her mouth he stopped.

"She knows?" He finally asked. "How does she know? Did… did you tell her?"

Ladybug shrugged. "No. I didn't say anything. She must've pieced it together herself. I had only just found out right before I arrived at the Louvre."

Cat Noir rubbed the back of his head, but he didn't seem to be aware of the action. "How much does she know? Does she know about me or about Master Fu or Lillian?"

She shrugged again. "I honestly don't know, but it won't be long until she finds out."

"Are you going to tell her? About me? About everything?"

"Do you want me to tell her about you?" She asked. "Because if not, then I'll only tell her about Lillian."

He thought about it for a minute. On the one hand, he would be glad to have another person to share the secret with, but at the same time he would be excluding Nino. If he were to let Alya know the truth, then he would tell Nino. He knew that if he didn't tell his best friend, especially if Alya knew, then he might lose Nino as a friend. He would have to tell Nino himself, and soon.

"Tell her," he said.

She nodded. "Are you sure? Because if you don't want her to know I don't have to tell her."

He shook his head. "No. Go ahead and tell her. I'll tell Nino tomorrow, about both of us."

Ladybug nodded. "Alright." She took in a deep breath. "Are we sure we want to do this? Because, once it's out there, we can't take it back."

He nodded. "I'm sure. Besides, the cat's already out of the bag," he said with a sly smile. "We might as well let it run free."

She rolled her eyes, but was thankful for his reassurance. Having him on her side made her feel so much better about revealing the truth to Alya.

"I must say," Adrien said, "it will be nice having them know, especially after lying to them for as long as we have."

"I feel the same way, even though I am totally freaking about Alya knowing, at the same time I'm… kind of relieved that she knows. Speaking of, I need to get home. She's probably waiting for me there."

"Then I shall wish you a goodnight, my lady."

"Goodnight, Cat Noir," she said softly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Once Ladybug had reached her house, she dropped into the darkened spot on her street and detransformed.

"Are you ready for this, Marinette?" Tikki asked.

"Not at all," Marinette said. "Wish me luck."

She sighed and went in through the back door. She passed by her parents on her way up, who mentioned that Alya was waiting for her in her bedroom. Marinette thanked them and headed upstairs.

She opened the trap door into her attic bedroom and immediately saw Alya waiting pacing back and forth across her room.

"Hi," she said when Alya didn't notice her.

"I was expecting you back sooner, since you know you can swing through Paris like Tarzan," Alya said, a bit cynically.

"I'm sorry," Marinette told her truthfully. "It couldn't be helped."

"I know. You were busy being a superhero," she said in the same cynical tone. Alya's face was blank and her voice, besides the cynicism, was the same way.

Marinette sighed. "Look, Alya, if you're going to be mad at me, be mad at me! Yell or scream or something. I know what I did was wrong, and that I've been lying to you for almost a year now. I've betrayed you. I'm a horrible best friend. Just say it."

Alya kept her poker face up during Marinette's little monologue. She didn't let any of her true emotions shine through. Her stony face caused Marinette to fall into silence.

"Please say something," Marinette said when Alya's silence became deafening.

"What do you want me to say? You said it all. You were a horrible friend. You did lie and betray me. You are very good at summing up details." Alya's face was blank. It was hard for Marinette to get an idea of what Alya was thinking about. She was doing a good job of keeping her poker face up.

Marinette's eyes started to water. "Look, I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me again."

Alya raised her eyebrow. "Are you kidding? Why would I want to do that?"

"Well, I lied to you, betrayed you, and was basically a horrible friend," Marinette surmised.

Alya nodded. "Yes. You did, but you did it for good reasons. I know why you had to lie to me, _Ladybug_ ," she said, adding emphasis on Marinette's secret identity. "I'm madder at myself than I am at you. I should have seen it. All the clues were right there in front of me, and I just didn't see them."

"Well, now you know," Marinette said. "So, since you know who I am, you might as well know who gives me my powers. Tikki?"

At the call of her name, the little Kwami flew out of Marinette's purse and into the space between the two girls.

"Alya, meet Tikki. Tikki, Alya," Marinette introduced.

Alya's eyes went wide at the sight of the little creature. "Whoa," she muttered.

"It's great to officially meet you, Alya," Tikki said with her typical big smile.

Alya smiled, but it was more dazed than anything. "So, you're the one behind her powers?"

Tikki nodded. " _Oui_. I am a Kwami. I'm attached to an object called a Miraculous, which you already know about."

"I do. So, what do you mean by attached exactly?"

Marinette answered that question. "She's attached to the Ladybug Miraculous, my earrings. When I say the words, Tikki powers them up and I become Ladybug."

"And Cat Noir's the same way?" Alya asked. "He has a Kwami attached to his Miraculous as well?"

Marinette nodded. "Yes. It's the only way to access the Kwami's powers and abilities. Without a Kwami, the Miraculous is just another piece of jewelry."

"Do you know who Cat Noir is?" Alya asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Yes," she said right away. "I didn't always know, but a couple months ago certain circumstances happened."

"Who is he? Or am I not allowed to know?" Alya asked.

Marinette took in a deep breath before saying her next words. "Adrien," Marinette said before she could chicken out.

Alya froze for a minute, much like Adrien did when Marinette told him Alya knew.

"Wait, so… Adrien has been Cat Noir this entire time?" Alya asked, probably for confirmation. Marinette knew exactly how she felt.

"Yes. This entire time it has been Adrien under that mask," Marinette told her.

"I don't believe it," Alya said quietly to herself.

"It took me a little while to believe it, too, but if you knew Cat Noir like I did then it would make complete sense," Marinette mentioned, remembering all their late-night conversations before Hawkmoth was revealed. "You actually guessed it way before I ever found it."

"I know, but I was just kidding around," Alya said softly. "Are you sure it's the same guy? Because I can't picture Adrien being that… flirty."

Marinette smiled. "Trust me, he is that flirty. Just be glad you're missing out on all his puns. He makes even more now that we're together."

"Why was he so flirty with you anyway?" Alya asked. "Because I never saw Cat Noir flirt with anyone besides you, well Ladybug."

"Cat Noir doesn't flirt with me that much," she said, though she wasn't sure she believed it herself. Ever since finding out their identities, and since they started dating, Cat Noir's flirting had reached epic proportions. Also, she wasn't edging him away as often anymore.

"Oh, come on, Marinette! I took enough videos of you guys to know that there was something more going on than meets the eye."

Marinette sighed. "Before Adrien and I started dating, he was — I guess he still is technically — in love with Ladybug. Around the time we started dating, Adrien was… I guess reevaluating his life? I'm not entirely sure what he was going through, but I'm just glad that it all worked out in the end."

"I can only imagine," Alya muttered. "You two were both in love with each other, just not the same people, if that makes sense."

Marinette chuckled. "It does in a convoluted sort of way."

"So how long have you two known about each other?"

"A couple months, specifically, the night we defeated Hawkmoth." Even though she knew exactly who their arch enemy really was, it was hard for her to think of him as Gabriel Agreste. She knew that he wasn't the best father in the world, but Marinette still knew that he loved his son. It was just easier to think of him as Hawkmoth and not as Adrien's father.

Alya's eyes widened as the realization came to her. "How did Adrien deal with that? It was horrible enough when I thought it was just Adrien dealing with it, but since he's also Cat Noir? How do you get past that? He had to defeat his own father."

Marinette took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Hawkmoth was a very sensitive subject for Adrien, for the exact reasons that Alya had pointed out. It wasn't something they talked about often, if at all, really. Adrien was very good at hiding his feelings, so it was hard for her to get a read on him sometimes. She was just glad that he didn't have to go through it alone.

"He's doing okay with it," Marinette answered. "It's only been a couple months, so it'll take him awhile."

"I get it. I totally do." Alya said. "I can't even imagine how tough it is."

"I'm just glad that I don't have to keep anything from you anymore," Marinette said. "It's been hard keeping this from you, especially lately."

"Do you mean the tablets?"

Marinette nodded. "Yes. There is so much more going on with those than you know."

"Then tell me so I can protect myself. What is so dangerous about the tablets?"

* * *

Cat Noir stayed at the top of the Eiffel Tower for a little while after Ladybug left. He absolutely loved the city at night. All the lights glittered against the dark ground like stars twinkling in the sky above. He had a wonderful view of it from his bedroom, but it was nothing like being up at the top of the city. Ever since he got his Miraculous, he had loved the nighttime even more. It felt like home to him.

He finally went home about a half hour after Ladybug did. Adrien tried doing homework, but his mind couldn't focus. He was too preoccupied on the night's events. Alya knew. Granted, she didn't know about him, but she would find out soon. With everything that was going on, he was glad that Alya would know what she was up against.

He finally gave up on attempting to do homework, and just went to sleep. When he woke up, he had steeled his resolve in telling Nino. It was something he had been wanting to do for months, but something had always stopped him. He couldn't find any reason not to tell him anymore.

He got ready for the day quickly, taking less care than usual. His hair was still wet as he ran out the front door. He sent a text to Nino asking to meet him at a small coffee shop just down the road from the school. Adrien got there early, and ordered a small coffee for himself. It was a good five minutes before Nino arrived, and Adrien had drunk most of the coffee out of nerves. The caffeine was not helping at all. He was fidgety and nervous, and was itching to move around. He felt Plagg nudge him a few times from inside his shirt pocket.

"Sorry," Adrien muttered under his breath.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Plagg asked, flying out of the pocket but staying out of sight of the other customers.

" _Oui_ ," Adrien said right away. "Now hide."

Plagg rolled his eyes, but went back into the shirt pocket.

Nino walked in and set his bag on the floor and took the seat across from Adrien. They did their usual fist bump and immediately Adrien felt better.

"Why'd you want to meet here instead of at school?" Nino asked.

Adrien sighed. "Because I have something I need to tell you."

Nino leaned back casually. "Is it that your hair doesn't look perfect for once, Mr. Model? Because it's pretty obvious."

Adrien had to think about his words for a second, and then remembered his hasty exit that morning. He normally did a hair routine after a shower, but he had forgone it that morning. He snuck a glance at his reflection in the window, and was surprised to see his hair falling flatter than normal. He looked more like Chat Noir than he did Adrien.

"No, that's not it, Nino," Adrien said. He was speaking slowly, trying to find his words. "Um, so you know how I disappear and reappear at seemingly random times?"

Nino gave him a questioning look. "Yeah. Alya and I have several theories on why that could be. Are you finally going to tell me what you've been doing?"

Adrien nodded. "Yes." He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention or too close to eavesdrop, and then took in a deep breath. "I'm… I am Cat Noir."

Nino stared at him blankly for a moment, and then started chuckling. "Bro, no offense, but there's no way you can be Cat Noir, but I appreciate the laugh. What did you really want to tell me?"

"I'm serious, Nino," Adrien said with the same seriousness. "I am Cat Noir. I am a savior of Paris."

Nino was silent for a few moments and then his face fell once Adrien's seriousness hit him. "You're… you're not kidding."

Adrien shook his head. "No. I'm not." He held up his right hand that held the Miraculous. "This ring, it gives me my powers thanks to Plagg here."

At the mention of his name, the little cat-like Kwami flew out of Adrien's pocket and into the space between the two friends.

" _Bonjour_ ," Plagg said flatly. "Now that you know, Adrien can stop mooning over keeping secrets. If you'll excuse me, I have some cheese to eat."

Instead of Adrien's pocket, Plagg flew into Adrien's bag and came back out with a piece of camembert.

"Is that why you always smell like cheese?" Nino asked, glancing pointedly at Plagg.

Adrien gave him a look. "I tell you I'm a superhero and you focus on the cheese?"

Nino nodded. "Yeah! That's been bothering me ever since I met you! I thought that a model would smell better to be honest."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "It wasn't by choice. It's literally the only thing he eats."

Nino chuckled. "So what exactly is he?"

"I'm a Kwami," Plagg said. "I give him his powers, as long as he wears the black cat miraculous that is."

"What's a Kwami?" Nino asked.

"In my case, a cheese eating ball of magic," Adrien said sarcastically. "With a taste for laziness."

"So, I can assume that Ladybug also has a Kwami herself?" Nino asked.

He nodded. "She does."

"Do you know who Ladybug is? You two are a team, I can only assume you know who she is."

Adrien nodded. "It's Marinette," he said before he could chicken out. "She's Ladybug."

Nino blinked once as he processed that new information. He could see Nino's mind reeling from it, trying to connect the dots and accept the truth. Adrien did the same thing when he found out.

"Are you okay, Nino?" Adrien asked when his best friend didn't say anything for a couple minutes.

Nino nodded. "I'm fine, bro. Honestly? That makes so much sense! Alya and I had been throwing around theories on who Ladybug and Cat Noir were. Marinette was right up there at the top. It kind of seems silly now, looking back. You, by the way, were a bit more surprising. You were still on the list, but near the bottom."

Adrien smiled. "Well, it's good to know that you're not mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you? I know why you had to keep it a secret. I just want to know why now all of a sudden?"

"It's because of the tablets," Adrien said.

"The ones that Alya's been trying to translate? What about them?"

"They aren't just stories of a past Ladybug and Cat Noir," Adrien told him. "There's a whole lot more to it than that. And I wish I could explain in more detail, but school starts in a few minutes."

The boys grabbed their things and rushed to the school. They made it just under the bell. The girls gave them strange looks, but after a knowing nod from Adrien, Marinette understood. She leaned back and sighed. Marinette glanced over at Alya, who was looking at her. She told Alya everything the night before. She started from the beginning when she first received the Miraculous, to the night's events at the Louvre. Alya freaked out when she was told the people murdered were the same ones that were translating the tablets for her, but she seemed to be dealing with it okay enough.

All during class, she could feel Alya's and Nino's questions burning into her, and from the way Adrien was sitting she knew he felt the same way. She had no idea how much Adrien told Nino before class, but since Nino kept glancing back at her she knew Adrien had told him at least about her.

During lunch, the questions started flying. Alya knew more than Nino did but she still listened intently at their combined recounting of their latest ventures. Nino, even though he was rarely phased by anything, became visibly scared when they told them about Lillian's plan to end the world.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Nino asked when they were done.

"Just try to lay low," Marinette said. "Alya's blog has attracted too much attention to us already. She's been getting rid of people who know too much."

"Then why hasn't she gotten rid of me?" Alya asked.

The superheroes shrugged at her question.

"Maybe she thinks you'll be useful," Adrien suggested. "Think about it. It'd be stupid to assume she doesn't know our identities by now. Perhaps she thinks that she could convince you or Nino to turn against us, using the fact that we were lying to you guys."

"She also left Jalil alive, Alix's brother," Marinette pointed out. "She wouldn't have done that if she didn't think he would be useful. Everything she's done so far has been calculated. Lillian's been planning this for centuries."

"And she's been looking for the sextant and the disk," Alya said, remembering the information she received the night before. "Why? Why would she go to all that trouble?"

"There's this jewel," Marinette said, "a powerful jewel, like our Miraculouses, except magnitudes more powerful."

"It's called the Jewel of Rubati," Tikki said. "If Lillian were to use it, she would basically become a god. The tablets give instructions on how to use them to gain this power."

"And using that power she can create the apocalypse," Nino surmised. "I repeat, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Yeah," Alya said enthusiastically. "Anything. I know I haven't been much help with my blog bring attention on us, but I want to make things right. I promise I won't post any more information about the tablets."

"I know, Alya, but truly there's not much you two can do," Marinette said. "This is way out of your league."

"Um, no offense, Marinette," Alya began, "but this is a bit out of your league also. I can see it in both of your eyes. You two are scared to death."

Marinette and Adrien glanced at each other thoughtfully. It was something neither of them had wanted to admit. They were both willing to believe it was something they could handle, but as it became more of a reality the more the two of them became afraid.

"So what if we are?" Marinette asked. "It doesn't change anything. We're going to be fighting her in just a few short weeks' time. That fact isn't going to change no matter how scared we are."

"How do you defeat her?" Nino asked.

Before they could answer, they heard the bell ring from down the street. Class was about to begin. The four them gathered their things and rushed into the building, but none of them were focused on school. All four of their minds were focused on Lillian, and their teachers noticed. Adrien was the only one of them who managed to get every question asked of him correct. Marinette still wasn't sure how Adrien managed to do that. She could very clearly see him writing and erasing furiously on a piece of paper on his desk. Marinette managed to see what he was writing, and it was the symbols they saw written on the wall at the museum. Was he trying to translate them? Next to the paper was his tablet. It was open to Alya's blog posts with the photos of the tablet on one half of the screen and a scanned copy of the translation. He didn't look like he was making any progress.

Class couldn't end fast enough for the four friends. School seemed so irrelevant with everything that was going on. They all knew it was going to be hard to focus with the apocalypse looming over their heads. They went their separate ways after promising the meet up later that night. Master Fu wanted Ladybug and Cat Noir to train again, and since Alya and Nino knew the superheroes thought it would be best if they tagged along.

* * *

Once everyone's parents were asleep, the group of four snuck out of their respective houses and headed to their rendezvous point, the Ladybug and Cat Noir statue. The stadium was just a couple of blocks away.

"Do you think they'll arrive in costume?" Nino asked.

Alya shrugged. "I have no idea. Adrien might."

Nino smiled. "Yeah. I know that boy, and he likes to make an entrance."

"Who likes to make an entrance?" Marinette asked, coming up behind them.

"Adrien," Nino and Alya answered at the same time.

Marinette immediately groaned, to which Nino and Alya found amusing.

"If he could, he would arrive with a parade," Marinette said.

"Of course I would," a voice said from the dark.

The three of them looked up to see him perched on the edge of the roof. His cat eyes were glowing in the dark, giving him an eerie effect.

"We should've put money on this," Alya whispered to Nino.

He did a summersault off the roof and landed lithely on his feet. A moment later he detransformed revealing his civilian identity.

"You know," Nino announced, "seeing you next to the statue, I can definitely see the resemblance."

"I still mind that he made me shorter than you," Adrien said.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at him. "Your jealously was the reason you almost ended up in jail, remember? I think a few inches off your height is worth not being in prison."

"Ha ha. Very funny," he said, unamused. "Let's just get going."

The four of them started walking towards the stadium. Adrien and Marinette took up the lead with Alya and Nino hanging back.

"It's like we're in the Twilight Zone," Alya whispered to Nino.

"I know. It's weird," Nino agreed.

"I can hear you back there," Adrien called back.

"Is that a superhero thing?" Nino asked.

Adrien chuckled. "No. It's the fact neither of you whisper very well."

"You think you're so funny," Alya said.

Adrien turned around and started walking backwards so he could face Alya and Nino. "Oh, I know I'm funny. My jokes are what got Marinette to fall for me."

"Just keep telling yourself that, kitty," Marinette said, pulling him aside so he wouldn't run into a lamp pole. He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

Alya giggled. "Is this what you two are like when we're not around? And since when do you call him kitty?"

"Since I found out who he was, and yes. We're always like this."

"Okay, explain something to me, Marinette," Alya said, jogging to catch up with her, "how are you able to be both the clumsiest person I know while also being able to swing across Paris and fight bad guys?"

"I have no idea. When you figure it out, let me know," Marinette answered.

Alya chuckled.

By that time they had reached the stadium. They entered through the side entrance, and immediately noticed Master Fu waiting for them not far from the door.

"Ah, there you are," he said.

"I hope you don't mind," Marinette said, "but we brought a few friends along."

Master Fu walked towards them to see the newcomers. "Hello, Alya. Good to see you again."

"Long time no see," Alya said with a smile.

"Hey, dude. I'm Nino. Adrien's best bud!" Nino greeted, holding out his hand.

Master Fu shook Nino's hand thoughtfully. "Pleasure to meet you, Nino," he said, before turning to the young superheroes. "Might I ask why you brought them along?"

Adrien and Marinette smiled sheepishly and both did their awkward movements. Nino recognized Adrien's head rub, and Alya noticed Marinette playing with her hands.

"Well, they sort of found out about us," Adrien said.

"I figured it out," Alya told him. "Well, sort of. I kind of pieced it together, about Marinette that is, but not about Adrien."

Master Fu sighed. "And then they told both of you the truth."

"Yes, sir," Nino said.

Master Fu motioned for Adrien and Marinette to follow him. Once they were out of earshot he began to speak.

"I do not approve of this," Master Fu told them. "Not only is it dangerous for them to know, it is also against the rules of the Miraculous. I have told you this, as have your Kwamis."

"I'm sorry. It's my fault," Adrien said. "Alya had only figured out who Marinette was, but I gave Marinette permission to tell Alya about me as well."

"No, Adrien. It's my fault. I should've done a better job of hiding my identity."

"It is no matter of whom is to blame," Master Fu interrupted. "They know now, and it is best to make them prepared."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "You're not giving them Miraculouses, are you?" she asked. She could only imagine how excited Alya would be.

Master Fu shook his head. "No. Having two new Miraculous wielders would do more harm than good at the moment. No. Lillian is too dangerous. Though, they could be helpful in your training."

"How so?" Adrien asked, wondering what they could do. No offense to Alya and Nino, but neither of them were particularly good at fighting.

"Just transform and wait for instructions."

"Alright," Adrien said curiously. "Plagg, claws out!"

"Tikki, spots on!"

With those words, Alya and Nino turned just in time to see the Kwamis being pulled into the Miraculouses. They both watched, open-mouthed, as their best friends transformed right before their eyes. Marinette was showered with shimmery pink and red bubbles, leaving in their wake Ladybug. On the other hand, Adrien circled by green lightning revealing his black cat suit. His tail appeared unfurled from the belt around his waist. His demeanor changed almost immediately, Nino noted. He had a bit of a cocky smile and stood more confidently. Nino had interacted with Cat Noir multiple times, but finding out it was his best friend under that mask changed everything.

* * *

During the training, Alya and Nino spent most of it talking with Master Fu instead of helping Adrien and Marinette train as they originally thought they were going to do. Instead, the two of them learned more about Lillian and her plans. Needless to say by the end they were not only exhausted physically, but mentally as well. What made it worse was that the alignment of the planets was only two weeks away. They only had two weeks to prepare and take down Lillian. There was still a bit of hope. She didn't have the jewel yet, but she had the map.

Doing the only thing she could think of to help, Alya reset her app to look for mentions of robberies or thefts from museums or dig sites or royal collections all over the world. It wasn't much, and it also wasn't likely that the jewel had been found after all these years, but it was something.

Near the end of the training, Cat Noir was starting to get a bit bored. He casually leaned against his staff and said, "Why am I even learning this? I already know how to fight against her henchmen, remember? They were just a bunch of pushovers. I didn't even break a sweat." This training session was to prepare the superheroes for the type of fighting her henchmen were capable of. Master Fu knew exactly the type of fighting styles Lillian was fond of, and he knew how to fight against them.

"Because, next time you come up against them, Adrien," Master Fu said, coming up to the black cladded superhero, "she would have trained them to not fall for your tricks." Master Fu swung up his cane and used it knock Cat Noir off his feet.

Nino chuckled. "I always thought cats landed on their feet."

"Ha ha," Cat Noir said flatly as he stood up. "You know she's told me the exact same thing at least a dozen times." He pointed this thumb over his shoulder to where his girlfriend was, giggling under her breath.

"If you'd just fall on your feet I wouldn't have to say it," Ladybug said.

He rolled his eyes. "We should get home. It's pretty late and we don't all want to be late for school."

"Then I shall see all four of you again Friday evening," Master Fu said.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The next day started out as normal as it could be. The four of them got up, got ready for the day, and all headed to school. Though, once there, the normalcy ended. Kim and Max were sitting on either of side of a disheartened Alix, who appeared to have been crying. Curious and concerned, Marinette made her way over to see what was wrong. Alix had definitely been crying. Her eyes and nose were rimmed red, and her normal shiny pink hair had lost some of its luster.

"What's wrong, Alix?" Marinette asked, kneeling down so she was at eye-level with her.

"My brother. I think he's missing," she said, obviously holding back tears.

"Why would you think that?" Adrien asked, coming up behind Marinette.

"H-he was working late at the Louvre the night all those people were—" Alix cut off suddenly, and took in a deep breath. "When those people were killed. He wasn't found there, but he also hasn't come home. Dad and I have looked everywhere he could be, and he's just gone. We have no idea where he could be."

Marinette reached up and tightly grasped Alix's hands in hers. "I'm so sorry, Alix. I know it must be hard, but you will find him." As Marinette said those words, her blood started to run cold. She had a very good idea of where Jalil was, and it wasn't a good thing.

"The police say if he isn't found in a couple days, we might never find him," Alix said, on the verge of sobs.

"What if I told you I could get Ladybug and Cat Noir to help with the search?" Marinette asked.

Alix looked up hopefully. "Could you really do that?"

Marinette smiled warmly at Alix. "Consider it done."

The bell rang and the small group of students disbanded so they could head up to class.

"You do realize who kidnapped Jalil?" Alya asked on their way up.

Marinette nodded. "I do, and I hope I didn't just lie to Alix. We can look for him after class."

As they sat down in their seats, Marinette glanced over her should to where Alix sat. She had never seen Alix that vulnerable, ever. That girl was as tough as nails, and seeing her that upset was very unnerving. It only lit a fire under Marinette.

Just before class started, Alya's phone buzzed. Confused, she pulled it out of her bag and saw it was a notification from that news app. Marinette looked over her shoulder as they read the article. Marinette gasped and put her hand over her mouth as she realized it was for a missing person: Amelia. There wasn't any sign of a struggle at her apartment or at the museum. She just simply vanished, and the police in London had no leads, just like with Jalil.

"Wait, Marinette, did you know her?" Alya asked when she saw her best friend's reaction.

Marinette nodded her head ever so slightly. "Yes." Her voice could barely reach louder than a whisper. "She's the girl from the British Museum."

Understanding lit Alya's face, just for a moment, but then it was replaced with horror. "Oh my gosh. This cannot be a coincidence."

"No," Marinette said, shaking her head. "It's definitely not."

"Okay class, settle down!" Miss Bustier announced. "We have a full day ahead so let's get to work."

The two girl's shared a grave glance before unwillingly focusing on the lesson.

* * *

Amelia and Jalil were deathly afraid. They were tied up in the back of a safari truck driving through some country in the middle of Africa. Neither of them had any idea as to why they were there, but all they knew was they were needed.

The two of them hadn't spoken in hours, despite the language barrier, they were able to exchange names, but that was the only conversation either of them had had with each other.

Jalil tried to get a glance out of the back of the vehicle, but he couldn't see anything. He looked back over at Amelia. She was in better shape than he was. He had been kidnapped almost an entire day before she had turned up. All he could think about was getting back to his sister who was probably worried sick about him.

Amelia looked across the short space to the man tied up across from her. He was a bit strange, his clothing resembled that of classic Egyptian garb, but overall he seemed like a nice person. Amelia knew exactly who had kidnapped them, but Jalil didn't. He was extremely confused, but Amelia knew exactly why they were there. Lillian needed their help. They were probably the only two people on the entire planet who knew the full translation of the tablet, but didn't want the jewel for themselves. That put them in the odd position of being the only people who could find it. That wasn't mentioned in the tablets, but it was mentioned on the map. Despite the fact the parchment was pretty much blank, there was a small inscription in the corner that Amelia had translated in her off time.

The truck stopped and they heard footsteps walking on the dirt to the back of the vehicle. The cloth covering the back entrance was thrown open and two guards urged them to come out. They managed to get out of the vehicle without much trouble even with the fact their hands were tied.

Amelia had no idea what part of Africa they were in, but the desert was most definitely out, as were the plains. They were deep in the jungle, and the flora was so thick only the faintest traces of sunlight could penetrate to the ground. In front of them loomed a giant cave where the light only went in a few feet before the shadows took over. One of the guards pushed them forward towards the mouth of the cave. Amelia hesitated. She knew what was inside wasn't friendly. She glanced over at Jalil. He shared her expression, but somehow they both knew that if they didn't comply their fate would be much worse.

As they entered the cave, one of the guards turned on a flashlight and led the way deeper into the earth. After a few minutes, a golden yellow light started to appear. A few moments later, they had entered a large, cavernous room about the size of the main lobby of her museum. The ceiling must've been forty feet high at least, and twice as wide. It was vaguely circular and the stone walls shone with water. The dampness creeped out into the air, causing a chill to run down Amelia's spine. In the center of the cavern was Lillian, standing in the middle of a circle of large torches. On either side of here were two pillars holding up the sextant and decoder, and in front of her, on a table, was the map.

"Oh. Finally," Lillian said. "I was wondering you would ever bring them here. Get over here." Amelia knew everything she was saying, and she was saying it in perfect Romanian. Amelia glanced over at Jalil, and she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was saying as well. He was probably hearing it in perfect French. She was probably using a spell to make sure anyone she spoke to understood her.

The guards urged them forward so they were a few feet away from the map.

"Oh, are the tied hands really necessary?" Lillian asked. "Come on. You." She pointed at one of the guards. "Untie them."

One of the guards came around and pulled out a serrated knife. He cut the ties on Amelia then Jalil. They each started rubbing their wrists as they glanced nervously around.

"So, Amelia, you know why you're here," Lillian said, "but Jalil, I'm afraid you've been kept out of the loop. You know everything about the Menes Set, I assume." Jalil nodded and Lillian smiled. "Perfect. So, now all you need to know is that the jewel cannot be found by someone who has bad intentions. That is where you and Amelia come in."

Over the next few minutes, Lillian explained what they were going to do and exactly how to do it. Amelia and Jalil took their spots, and the ritual commenced just as Lillian said it would. The map suddenly wasn't blank anymore. Ink started appearing in invisible brush strokes, revealing the location of the jewel. Lillian's smiled gleamed at the sight of it. When it was done, the jewel's location had been found. She snatched up the map with an even brighter glow in her eyes. She handed it off to one of her guards.

"Here," she said. "Go figure out where this is. Once you have the jewel, bring it back to the chateau in Paris. We'll start getting everything ready. As for you two—" She turned her attention to Amelia and Jalil "— we will be sending you back home as long as you promise not to speak of this again."

Each of them nodded. "I promise," Amelia said.

"I promise," Jalil said after her. Although neither of them were speaking in a language they understood, each of them knew exactly what the other had said.

Lillian snapped her fingers and three of them disappeared from the cavern. Jalil found himself back in his apartment in Paris. He let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto his couch, wanting to believe everything that had happened was a dream.

Amelia almost cried she was so happy to be back in her apartment. Lillian came through on her word. Amelia saw that her place had been searched and figured it was probably by the police. She grabbed her jacket and headed to the local station to tell them she was alive and give them a lie about why she was gone.

Lillian appeared in her chateau in Paris, feeling extremely satisfied. Finally, the one thing she had been pursuing for centuries was finally happening. It was only a couple weeks away, and not even the two superheroes could stop her.

* * *

By the end of class that day, Marinette and Adrien were ready to investigate Jalil's disappearance, but it turned out that was unnecessary. Alix had received a phone call from her father that Jalil had returned. All four of them were relieved that he wasn't missing anymore, but that still left the question of why he had left in the first place.

"Maybe Lillian needed him," Alya theorized, keeping her voice low since they were in a café. "Maybe he could do something that she couldn't."

"But that still leaves the question of Amelia," Marinette said. "She was taken as well, and she's also back. Lillian needed both of them."

"Why would a super powerful witch need two ordinary people?" Nino asked.

"I would guess akuma victim," Adrien theorized, "but Amelia wasn't akumatized."

"They both had access to the full translation," Alya mentioned. "Could that be why?"

"Possibly," Marinette mused. "But we're not going to get answers just sitting here drinking coffee. We need to talk to Jalil." She turned to Adrien and gave him a smile. "What do you say, partner?"

"I'd say let's go," Adrien said. "We'll catch you guys up later."

The young superheroes left the café and found a secluded area to transform. Once they were out of their civilian identities, Cat Noir and Ladybug made their way to the police station. They managed to dodge all the reporters that were waiting on the latest scoop and went inside. Lieutenant Roger pulled them aside away from the chaos in the station.

"Can we speak to Jalil?" Ladybug asked, getting right to the point.

The lieutenant was not expecting that question from the spotted superhero. "Why would you want to speak with him?"

"We want to know where he was," Cat Noir answered.

"Well, I doubt he'll tell you two since he hasn't told us."

"Please," Ladybug said. "Maybe he can't tell you, but maybe he'll tell us."

Lieutenant Roger sighed and thought it over for a moment. "Okay. You can have ten minutes alone. He's in the conference room. I'll walk you over."

Jalil was alone in the conference room. He had a recyclable cup of instant coffee in front of him, but it appeared that he hadn't drunk any.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, what are you doing here?" he asked. He hadn't seen them since the incident at the museum.

The lieutenant left the room and the superheroes sat down across from Jalil. "We're here to talk," Ladybug said, "about your disappearance."

Jalil looked away from them. "I can't talk about it."

"Were you told not to talk about it?" she asked.

Jalil still couldn't look at them, and it was a few seconds before he answered. He nodded his head, ever so slightly, before whispering, " _Oui_. We were told not to."

"By whom?" Cat Noir asked.

He shook his head and shrugged.

The superheroes shared a glance. Ladybug turned back to Jalil. "Jalil, we want to help, but we can't do that if you won't help us. Who kidnapped you?"

"I don't know her name," he murmured. "But… she… she had magic. She had her guards… they—" He seemed unable to form the words, almost like he didn't want to believe what he had seen.

"Jalil, it's okay," Ladybug comforted. "Don't think about that. Was Amelia with you?"

He nodded.

"Why did she need you and Amelia?"

He hesitated. Jalil seemed almost like he was strangling on the words. He wasn't under a spell; he was just afraid.

"You're safe, Jalil," Cat Noir said. "She can't hurt you. We need to stop her, but we can't do that if you don't tell us why she needed you and Amelia."

Jalil tapped his fingers nervously as he thought it over. "Okay," he finally said. "She said that she needed us because it was the only way to find the jewel. You could only find it if you had no intention of causing harm with it."

Ladybug smiled, just a bit. Smart. A fail-safe. They put it in place for when Lillian would come looking for the jewel. Granted, it wasn't fool-proof, but it was a good idea.

"Are we safe to assume she has the jewel now?" Ladybug asked, hiding the panic in her voice.

Jalil nodded. "They have the location. They're probably on their way to it as we speak."

Ladybug and Cat Noir shared a grave glance. They were both thinking the same thing: She had the jewel, and nothing could stop her. They said goodbye to Jalil and left the station. Without even needing to tell each other, they went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and sat down. They looked out over the horizon, watching the sun sink lower in the sky.

"What are we going to do?" Ladybug asked, speaking the first words said between either of them in over thirty minutes.

"Pray we get lucky?" Cat Noir suggested.

Ladybug gave him a look. "You literally represent bad luck."

He shrugged. "Okay. So you'll pray for both of us."

"I don't think it works like that, Cat."

"It should. It would solve a lot of our problems."

"We still have a chance," Ladybug said optimistically. "No matter what, there's always a way to defeat the villain."

Cat Noir sighed. "Yeah, maybe when we were dealing with akumas and Hawkmoth; this is something new. Maybe in this case there's never another way."

"You're forgetting, there is a way to destroy the jewel."

"An impossible way. How are we ever supposed to get close enough to the jewel, or the sextant, or the decoder without her noticing?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "But it's our only option, Cat. We have to take it."

He looked out over the cityscape, his cat eyes lost in thought. "Do you really think we can pull it off?" he asked, without looking away.

"I do."

He sighed and turned to look at her. "Then I'm in."

* * *

That evening, after doing a quick patrol, they stopped by Master Fu's to tell him about the jewel. They had detransformed so Tikki and Plagg were with Wayzz, sitting on a table set up with their favorite treats. Master Fu was extremely disappointed, but he still had hope. It rested on the safeguard that creators of the sextant put in.

"We need a plan," Master Fu said. "We have two weeks until the spell can be done. That gives us time."

"Whoa, why not before?" Adrien asked.

"She'll be the most vulnerable when the spell is being done," Master Fu said without skipping a beat.

"That doesn't leave us a lot of time," Marinette said.

"No," Master Fu agreed. "So you will need to be ready."

"We don't even know where she's doing the spell," Adrien pointed out. "What if she has to do it on an entirely different continent?"

"She can't."

"How do you know that?" Adrien asked.

"Because it has to be done in a chateau a just outside Paris."

"And how do you know that?" Marinette asked.

Master Fu chuckled. "Because that chateau was built on an ancient site of power. If she wants to do the spell that is where she will be doing it."

"Okay," Marinette said with a smile, "so we have a where, we just need to figure out how we're going to stop her."

"You are very optimistic, Marinette," Master Fu mentioned.

She shrugged. "I have to be," Marinette said simply. Being optimistic was what made her able to do what she did. She had spent so long doubting herself, imagining all the worst scenarios that could happen, that it kept her from truly realizing that she could be Ladybug. It wasn't until Cat Noir gave her the push she needed that she could do it, that she could be the superhero that Paris needed. Being optimistic was what allowed her to do what she could do. It gave her the ability to figure out the best outcome for her Luck Charms. Optimism was her best superpower.

"What about those symbols on the wall at the Louvre?" Adrien asked. "They had to be important."

Marinette had completely forgotten about that.

"May I see them?" Master Fu asked.

"Sure." Adrien reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. It had lots of scribbles and eraser marks on it. The only thing on the paper that was untouched were the symbols. He handed it over to Master Fu.

"Hmm," he murmured as he looked it over thoughtfully. "Interesting."

"Can you read it?" Marinette asked.

"It is about Lillian," he told them. "I am not sure how they were able to figure this out, but it should help."

"What does it say?" she asked eagerly.

"It says that after the ritual, all her magic will be connected to the jewel."

"So that means we're going to have to wait until after the spell. Wonderful," she said sarcastically. "It was hard enough when we had to take her down during the spell, but it's doable."

"And we don't have to figure it out tonight," Master Fu said. "Both of you, go home. You look exhausted. Come back tomorrow afternoon and we'll start on a plan."

Marinette and Adrien agreed. Not only did they look exhausted, but they felt it as well. It had been nonstop since Lillian had showed up. At least with Hawkmoth, they actually caught some breaks in between the akuma villains destroying Paris.

They walked silently along the streets of Paris back to the bakery. Neither of them spoke, but neither of them felt the need to. They stopped in front of the entrance up to the house.

"Well, this is me," Marinette said, stopping in front of the door.

"Usual time?" Adrien asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Good night, Adrien."

"Good night, Marinette."

He leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like a few years. She smiled as he pulled away, and she was still smiling as she turned towards the door. No matter what, he could always make her smile.

Adrien smiled as he watched Marinette walk into her house. Once he was sure she safe, he put his hands in his pockets and started the walk home. He could take the bus or the Metro, but he liked walking. Up until a couple months ago, he was driven everywhere. He was driven to school, to photoshoots, everywhere. Adrien was surprised he was able to walk around the house by himself. Whenever his dad was arrested, suddenly he had so much more freedom. He didn't have to ditch his bodyguard or beg his father to do something. It was almost exhilarating for him. If he was being honest with himself, he was still getting used to it. Adrien was experiencing Paris in a way he never had before, and he never wanted it to go away.

Marinette went upstairs and grabbed an apple from the fridge. Her parents were in the living room watching the evening news. She recognized Mrs. Chamack on the television. Marinette didn't stay long enough to catch what the news piece was about, but she did catch the cover of Jagged Stone's latest album. She had to smile. She was so glad that she decided to go with her gut instinct in the end. It certainly paid off.

She went up to her room and out onto the balcony. She leaned on the railing looking out over her beloved city. Even though she loved her visit to London, Paris still held a certain charm that London could never compete with. Marinette couldn't bear to lose something as wonderful as what she was feeling right then, looking out over the city she loved. She never wanted that feeling to go away.

* * *

As the days went on, it was suddenly becoming all too real for the superheroes. For several days in a row, they went over different scenarios and plans, figuring out the best way to stop Lillian. A week before the planets were supposed to be in line, it felt they had gone over every possible scenario that could happen and how to deal with it.

Adrien ran his hand through his hair again as he stared at the blueprints for the chateau. He felt like he could walk through that place blindfolded. He glanced over at Marinette. She was reading through the translation again for what was probably the twentieth time. He knew what she was looking for; she was looking for a solution that didn't involve them waiting until the very last second to take Lillian down. They both knew that the only way to stop her for good was to wait until her powers were tied with the jewel, so that when it was destroyed she would be left powerless. Even without the jewel she could do some serious damage, as Adrien had already found out. The bruises from that night were almost entirely gone.

"Thought we might find you guys here," Nino said from the open door.

All of them looked up in surprise. Standing in the doorway was Alya and Nino, yet no one in the room heard the door open.

"We came to help," Alya said before they could ask.

"It's too dangerous," Marinette said.

Alya shook her head. "No. We might not have superpowers, but we can still be helpful. You could have two extra pairs of hands at your disposal," she pointed out.

"Yeah," Nino agreed. "We'll do anything you tell us. We could provide a distraction."

"It's still dangerous," Adrien said.

"Puh-lease! I live for danger," Nino exclaimed. "It's my middle name!"

"No it's not," Alya said exasperatedly.

"Adrien's starting to rub off on you," Marinette said in the same tone.

"They may help," Master Fu announced, speaking for the first time since Alya and Nino arrived.

"What?" Marinette and Adrien asked at the same time.

"If they truly want to help us stop the Shadow Witch, then they may," Master Fu said calmly. "Come here and we will discuss what you can do."

Marinette and Adrien shared a worried glance. Everything they had done thus far had been to keep their two best friends out of danger, and here they were, willingly throwing themselves into the lion's den. Neither of them could tell if it was out of comradery or bravery.

* * *

"I can't believe we're doing this," Alya muttered to herself. Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to jump right out of her chest. They were just on the outside of the property, facing the side of the building. Alya could see a few guards circling around the property, but there were probably a dozen more inside. She looked up and saw Ladybug and Nino on the roof just over a skylight.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Adrien asked. "It's not too late."

Alya shook her head and stared at her friend straight in the eye. "No. I'm not backing out."

Adrien nodded. "Okay. Just double checking." His phone beeped and Adrien pulled it out of his pocket. "Marinette and Nino are in position. You ready?"

Alya nodded. " _Oui. Allons-y_."

"Okay. Plagg, Claws out!"

Alya watched as the little cat-like Kwami was absorbed into the silver ring on his right hand. As the power was absorbed, the transformation took place. She still hadn't gotten used to seeing them transform. It was something she had been waiting to see for so long. Adrien's street clothes were magically replaced by the Cat Noir suit, tail and all. Immediately his posture changed, he held himself more confidently. It was no wonder she never seriously considered him being Cat Noir, he didn't act like Adrien. Adrien was typically reserved and a bit shy, but Cat Noir was the complete opposite.

Cat Noir reached around to his staff, extended it to about twelve feet, and broke it in half to give one to Alya. "You know how to use that, right?" he asked.

She smiled. "I used to play tennis. I know how to hit stuff."

Cat chuckled. "Good. Now we just need to wait for the signal." He paused and second later his staff beeped. "And there it is."

Alya and Cat Noir emerged from their hiding space and not even a second later the guards took notice of them.

"No turning back now," Alya said as one of the guards advanced on her. She remembered all those days at the tennis court and took a swing at him, imagining the guard as a tennis ball. She hit him square in the face, knocking him out cold. A rush of excitement flew through her and suddenly she wasn't nervous anymore. Another guard rushed at her and whacked him on side, knocking him over. She glanced over at Cat Noir, who was doing considerably better than her, moving with the same flexibility and grace seen with all cats. Alya didn't let his abilities discourage her though. She was still doing pretty well on her own.

Ladybug watched the screen nervously as she watched her best friend and boyfriend take out the guards around the house. Nino was behind her on another set of computers doing his best to get phase 2 ready. The guard she had knocked out started groaning as he woke up, but she wasn't worried. Nino had brought along the best material in the universe, duct tape. He was tied up with nowhere to go.

Down in one of the corner screens, one of the cameras that filmed inside of the chateau, she saw a pair of guards running.

"Nino, how's it coming over there? Alya and Cat have two more guards heading their way."

"Almost done," Nino said. She heard him typing away, and then he stopped. She waited and a moment later music started blasting throughout the house. Ladybug smiled and the guards stopped running. They shared and a glance and started running back the other way. She looked at the other screens, and all of the guards inside the house were running towards the security room, all of them except the ones in the ballroom. Lillian took notice of the music, but she wasn't letting it stop her. That was what they were all hoping for.

"Okay. We need to get out of here. Come on, Nino."

They ran out of the security room and down the stairs. Just as they reached the landing the rest of the guards had converged on them.

"Ladybug," the one in front said. "We were told to keep a lookout for you."

"And you've succeeded, I don't suppose you'll let us go now?" she asked, vaguely hoping they would.

"Not a change," the guard said.

"Didn't think so," Ladybug muttered. "You ready Nino?"

"Its times like this that I miss being the Bubbler," he said to himself.

Ladybug took that as a yes. One of the guards advanced on her. She jumped up over, causing him to run straight into the stairs. Nino grabbed a nearby object and hit the guard over the head with it.

Together, the two of them managed to subdue a majority of the guards. Some of them were trying to escape, to warn Lillian, but she couldn't have that. Ladybug threw her yoyo, encircling the guards and dragging them back to her. Nino opened up a door and she tossed them in there.

"Quick, duct tape the door," she said, pressing her back against the door.

Nino reached into his bag and pulled out the giant roll of tape. He taped up the door as best he could. "Okay. That should hold. Should we check on Alya and Adrien?"

Ladybug smiled. "Let's go."

The door to the outside wasn't far from them. They ran out onto the patio ran around, past the pool, to where Ladybug had last seen the two of them. Ladybug and Nino had reached them just as they were finishing up the last guard. Surrounding them were a bunch of knocked out and groaning men and women.

"Alya!" Nino exclaimed, her ran over to his girlfriend and pulled her into a hug. She dropped the staff and quickly hugged him back. Cat picked up the other half of his staff and rejoined the two pieces before walking over to Ladybug.

"Hey there, bugaboo," he greeted with a cheeky smile.

"I see you and Alya fared pretty well," Ladybug said.

"She can really fight," he complimented. "Imagine what she could do with a Miraculous."

"That's a discussion for another day," she said. Ladybug grabbed her yoyo and slid it up, revealing the timer. "Right now, we need to get to Lillian."

"What else can we do?" Alya asked.

"Nothing," Ladybug said. "This is our fight now. Just stay safe."

"We'll see you guys on the other side," Cat Noir said, trying to sound optimistic but to Ladybug it just sounded bleak.

Together, the young superheroes ran into the building once more. Alya and Nino shared a glance.

"You still got that duct tape?" she asked.

Nino nodded. "Yup."

"Then let's make sure none of these guards interrupt them."


	12. Chapter 12

***Author's Note:** So, here we are, the last chapter. I just want to say thank you for all the wonderful comments and support. Seeing that people enjoy my work is what keeps me writing! I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it. So without any further adieu, the Final Chapter to Guardians of the Heart!

 **Chapter 12**

Cat Noir and Ladybug stood outside the door of the ballroom. They pressed their ears against the wood, listening. They could hear her voice, but they didn't recognize her words.

"On three?" Ladybug asked.

Cat Noir nodded.

"Okay. _Un_." They backed up a couple feet. " _Deux_." They readied themselves. " _Trois_." They ran forward, kicked the door open, and ran into the ballroom. They could see the sextant and the cypher disk, now complete, floating a few feet in the air surrounding by a bubble of blue light. That blue light had beams connecting them and heading towards a large and heart shaped blue stone lying on a stone pedestal. Lillian was standing behind the table with a wicked gleam in her glowing eyes.

The guards around the room ran towards them, but Ladybug and Cat Noir were easily able to take them out. Ladybug threw the last guard out of the room, and Cat Noir closed the door.

"You're too late," Lillian said gleefully. The blue light disappeared and the Menes Set clattered to the ground. She picked up the jewel and attached it to a premade chain. She lifted her hand and knocked Cat Noir and Ladybug aside. They flew until they hit the wall. Both of them collapsed on the ground gasping from the pain.

"Ow," Ladybug breathed, trying to get up.

"Anything broken, my lady?" Cat asked from beside her.

"I don't think so," she said, slightly moving all her extremities. Nothing felt broken. "What about you, kitty?"

"I think I still got all nine of my lives," he groaned, sitting up.

A second later she was sitting up as well. They looked on and saw Caresa muttering words under breath. Even from where they sat, they could feel the power emanating from her.

"What do you think? Lucky Charm?" Cat Noir suggested.

She shook her head. "No. I'm not risking it in case it doesn't work. Your cataclysm could come in handy if we time it just right."

"Even then that's no guarantee. We just need to get the jewel off her," he said.

"She's not going to let us get anywhere near her!"

"Just like old times," Cat Noir said with a smile.

"Okay. So let's just think of this as an akuma and it's in her necklace. Back to the basics?"

He nodded. "Sounds good to me. Shall we, my lady?" he asked, standing up. He reached down and helped her to her feet.

"After you."

He reached behind him and grabbed his staff, extending it in one smooth movement. He held it so that it was about his height and pointed it down. "It'll be my pleasure," he said with thrilled smile.

Cat Noir charged at Lillian, staff at the ready. His sudden attacked surprised Lillian enough to stop her spell and keep her from attacking. Ladybug joined in a moment later, coming at her from a different side. Lillian kept trying to land magical blows to the superheroes, but they were becoming too fast for her. Ladybug threw her yoyo around Lillian's legs and pulled the witch to her feet. Lillian roared with anger and threw a large energy ball at the heroine. Cat Noir knocked her aside before the attack could hit her. It blew past them and hit the wall, knocking out a giant hole to the outside. Ladybug and Cat Noir joined hands and ran outside. Lillian charged after them, her blue eyes glowing as brightly as ever.

"We can't get close enough," Ladybug said in between pants. "She's not letting us."

"I know we can do this," Cat Noir said firmly. "We've faced worse."

"No we haven't," she refuted.

"I know. I was just trying to be optimistic."

She couldn't help but laugh, but it was short lived as a fireball came hurtling towards them. They rolled out of the way and resumed the fight. Their morale was quickly depleting. They wouldn't stop fighting, never would they stop fighting, but their chances were becoming bleak at best.

Lillian managed to land an invisible blow to Ladybug, knocking her about fifty yards away. "Marinette!" he screamed.

Lillian laughed maniacally. Cat Noir glared at the witch. He could see her sanity was starting to waver; it was probably all that power flooding through her. No one could handle that much power without going insane. She marched forward until she was a few feet away, too far away for him to reach up and grabbed the jewel. Cat Noir was on his back, trying to sit up from her last attack.

"You dumb little alley cat," she spat. "When are you going to get it through your cat nip filled brain that you will never defeat me? I have the ultimate power! I am unstoppable!" She raised her hands and storm clouds starting rushing in. He looked up nervously as the dark gray and blue clouds quickly rolled in. He looked back towards Lillian, keeping his gaze steady. If was going to die, he was going to do it with his head held high. Thunder boomed and the air crackled with electricity. He braced himself for the impact. There was a flash and a streak of red, but he was fine. He glanced around and saw Ladybug, lying utterly still on the ground.

"Marinette!" he yelled, ignoring Lillian. He darted over to her, biting back tears. He got on his knees next to her. Her eyes were closed and her chest wasn't moving. Cat Noir gently grasped her wrist, desperately searching for a pulse, but there wasn't one to find. He looked down at her earrings. The spot in the middle started blinking.

"No!" His voice shook as he used all his remaining strength to hold back sobs. "No," he said again, but this time much softer and full of pain. "Please no.… Don't leave me." He put his arm under her shoulders and lifted her lifeless body to him. He pressed his forehead to hers and, just for a moment, let all his emotions come to the surface. He was always the one throwing himself in front of the firing line for her. He had taken so many hits himself that it never once occurred to him that she would do the same. Tears started streaming down his face as his heart ached for her loss.

"Pathetic," Lillian said as she watched Cat Noir grieve. "You are living proof that love is a weakness."

Her words sparked something within him. The tears stopped, but the pain was still there. He opened his eyes and was filled with a determination so fierce it was something like he had never felt before. For the first time, he truly got what it meant to be the black cat. He could feel the power surging inside him.

"No," he declared. "Love is not weakness." He stood up and turned around, staring down the Shadow Witch. "It's strength. Marinette has proven that time and time again. Love gives you a reason to fight. _She_ is my reason to keep fighting. You _will_ regret killing her because while Ladybug represents creation, _I_ represent destruction."

He grabbed his staff and extended it before breaking into a run heading straight towards Lillian. He knew exactly what to do, and he was more determined than ever.

* * *

"Marinette!" a voice echoed. She tried to find the voice, to find where it was coming from, but it was lost to her.

"No. No. Please no," that voice said again, but this time it was softer and hinted at sadness, though it was tough for Marinette to tell since it sounded so far away.

She tried to focus on the voice. It gave her comfort and warmth, and she wanted to know why. She wanted to follow it, to find the source, but it seemed impossible. She tried to get a sense of where she was, but it was difficult. Marinette felt like she was floating, yet not at the same time. She looked around, but all she was white smoke. Marinette tried calling out, but her voice made no sound.

"Don't leave me," the voice begged. The voice was closer that time, and she was able to recognize it.

"Adrien," she tried to say, but again no sound came out. She had to get back to him. It was important that she did, but she couldn't remember why. The more Marinette tried to remember the more it slipped away. She started to panic. There was no way she was losing those memories. She couldn't forget about Adrien and about how much he meant to her, even if she couldn't remember why. Why did she not want to forget him? There was a very important reason, but every time she came close to the answer it disappeared.

"Love is not weakness," Adrien said. His words struck a chord with her. Love. As soon as she heard the words she knew why she had to go back. She couldn't leave him alone. She had to go and fight.

"Ladybug represents creation; _I_ represent destruction," Adrien continued. Marinette felt like she was only hearing parts of a conversation, like a phone connection fading in and out, but she knew that she was hearing exactly what she needed to hear. Creation and destruction. Good luck and bad. Life and death.

Marinette had assumed she had died when she was struck by the lightning bolt Lillian created, but she still had on her Miraculous. Marinette was still connected to all the powers of the ladybug. She focused on the earrings, the source of her abilities, and she was no longer floating. The white smoke disappeared and was replaced by blackness. She felt heavy, but she was somewhere. Marinette became hyperaware of the earrings still placed on her ears. They were charged up with Tikki's power still. She could feel the power surrounding her, but it wasn't enough. Death still had his grip on her, and it was strong. Death had endless patience; he could hold onto her forever, but she didn't have that long.

She fought it, trying to break away from Death's grip, but there was nothing to bring her back to the land of the living. Except there was. She pictured Adrien in front of her, she pictured all their memories together. She remembered the first moment she fell for him. He gave her the umbrella, their hands touched, and thunder boomed. After that moment, there was no going back.

"Adrien," she tried to say, but her lips refused to form the words. She tried again, but the same result.

She kept the image of him looking at her, his hair starting to get damp from the rain, desperately wanting her to forgive him for the bubblegum incident.

"I love you," she said as she remembered the lightning in the background.

Marinette opened her eyes and took in a lungful of air. She took in a few deep breaths, reveling in the feeling of having oxygen in her lungs once again. She moved her hands, loving the feel of the grass beneath her fingers. It felt so good she wanted to cry. She sat up, her body aching, but she gritted her teeth against the pain. She looked down and saw that she was back to normal. Tikki was lying on the ground next to her. She took in a small gasp and scooped up the Kwami. Marinette let out a sigh of relief as Tikki started to movie.

Marinette stood up and saw that the grounds were empty, although there was evidence of a very destructive fight. She hoped Cat Noir was still alive. She ran inside and found the kitchen first, desperate to find food for her Kwami. Tikki was just waking up as Marinette searched through the cabinets. She let out a sigh of relief as she came across a box of cookies.

"Marinette," Tikki said in a soft voice.

"Shh," Marinette murmured. "We don't want to be found out. Here." She handed Tikki a couple of the cookies and the Kwami started eating ravenously. Neither of them wanted to mention what had happened. Marinette knew she had died, but she didn't want to talk about it. It wasn't like she had passed out or gotten close to death, she had actually died. It was only because of Tikki and her power that she was able to come back. That was about as much acknowledgement that she wanted to put towards it.

"You feeling better?" Marinette asked as Tikki at her third cookie.

"Much," Tikki answered. "Now where are Lillian and Cat Noir?"

"Let's find out."

Together, the two of them ran up to the security room. It was empty except for the guard Marinette had taken out earlier. She slid into the chair in front of the brunt of the screens and desperately searched for her boyfriend. Finally, she found him in the front of the chateau, fighting ferociously against Lillian. He was doing pretty well on his own, but he could still use some help.

"You ready, Tikki?" Marinette asked.

"Most definitely."

With a determined smile, she said, "Tikki, Spots on!"

Marinette closed her eyes as the transformation took hold and she was filled with the rush of power. Ladybug ran out of the security room and made her way to the skylight. She jumped up onto the roof and scanned the area. Lillian had her hand around his throat. He was grasping at her arm, trying to get to her to loosen her grip. Ladybug wasted no time. She grabbed her yoyo and threw it towards Lillian. Even at that distance it twirled around her wrist effortless. Ladybug yanked causing Lillian to let go of Cat Noir.

Cat Noir fell to the ground coughing and clutching his throat as he took in gasps of air. He looked up and saw Ladybug jumping down from the roof to the ground. He had to be dreaming, a hallucination brought on by a lack of oxygen. She couldn't be alive, and yet there she was.

"I killed you," Lillian declared, tilting her head at the spotted superhero. "You were dead. How are you alive?"

Ladybug smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you forgot one little detail. I represent _life_."

Lillian glared at Ladybug. The witch reached up and grabbed on the unbreakable string and started pulling Ladybug towards her. Ladybug dug in her heels, but Lillian was stronger.

"How many times am I going to have to squash you, little bug?" Lillian threatened as she pulled Ladybug closer, but Ladybug wasn't scared. She stared at the villain with steel in her blue eyes. Within moments Ladybug was inches away from Lillian. The witch knocked her down flat on her back.

Behind her, Ladybug saw Cat Noir standing behind them. He had his staff broken into two pieces. He was glaring at Lillian as he moved stealthily towards the villain. Ladybug shook her head, just a slight movement that Lillian wouldn't notice. Cat Noir stopped and waited.

"You can kill me all you want," Ladybug said. "I will keep coming back. I have a reason to come back. I have a reason to keep fighting. It's something you don't understand, and it's something you never will." She reached up and placed her hand around the jewel and then yanked with all her strength. Ladybug lifted her legs and kicked Lillian in the stomach, knocking her back several feet. She tossed the jewel over to Cat Noir and he took off running, just as she was hoping he would. Ladybug scrambled to her feet and took off after him. She caught up to him just as he was entering the building.

"Use your cataclysm on those!" she said frantically, pointing towards the stone columns that dominated the front of the house.

Cat Noir tossed the jewel to her. "Cataclysm!" he cried out. The power of destruction surged to his hand. He ran by the columns, letting his hand drag across the stone. He managed to get five of them before the power ran out. They started to crumble as their structure was weakened. They shared a smile and got out of there before it collapsed.

"Quick. We need to get the sextant and the disk," Ladybug said urgently. The started off towards the ballroom, but they were pulled back an invisible string. Lillian had climbed over the rubble and was covered in stone dust. Ladybug heard the beeping on Cat Noir's ring. Four minutes.

"Even without the jewel around my neck, I'm still connected to its power," Lillian said.

Ladybug ignored her. She threw up her yoyo, yelling "Luck Charm!"

Lillian started laughing. "Do you really think that silly little power is going to do you any good?"

Her Lucky Charm fell into her hands. "As a matter of fact, I do," Ladybug said. She looked down and saw that her Lucky Charm had given her a hair dryer. Definitely not what she was expecting, but she'd been given stranger. Ladybug glanced quickly around the room and noticed a wall socket. She hid her smile as an idea formed in her head.

"Cat Noir! Catch!" Ladybug yelled. She threw the jewel high over Lillian's head to where Cat Noir was. He grabbed the jewel and started running towards the ballroom. Ladybug spun her yoyo until it created a pink circle. She threw it and had it wrap around Lillian to keep her from running after him. Using all her strength, she threw Lillian back. Ladybug took off towards the wall socket. She plugged in the hair dryer, made sure all the safeties were turned off, and turned it on. The lights flickered and then the power went out. It was pitch black, to both her and Lillian. Cat Noir was probably in the ballroom by then. She grabbed her yoyo and opened up to find the screen. Taking the hair dryer with her, she used the yoyo as a GPS to get her through the chateau without getting lost.

"Hurry, Cat!" Ladybug yelled as she dashed into the ballroom. "She can't be far behind!" She dropped the hair dryer as she slid onto her knees by him. He was just breaking apart the sextant, finding the piece that Master Fu had described. Ladybug grabbed the disk and opened up the compartment in the middle, revealing the powder. He dipped the spike into the powder and held it over the jewel. She couldn't help but notice he had only two more pads left. She probably had maybe four.

" _No!_ " Lillian screamed when she came into the room.

"Do it now!" Ladybug yelled.

Using all his strength, Cat Noir thrust the spike into the stone. The metal slid through the stone and cracks started forming. The light coming from the jewel seemed to pulse.

"No! How dare you?!" Lillian cried out. Ladybug turned and saw Lillian grasping her chest, her skin cracking like porcelain. The witch lifted her hand and with the last of her strength threw Cat Noir back. He rolled across the floor and didn't stop until he crashed against the wall, his head cracking against the stone wall.

Ladybug pulled the spike out and stabbed the jewel again in a different spot. Lillian let out a wail as the stone shattered into a million pieces. A blue mist escaped from the jewel and she heard a body hit the floor. She looked over saw Lillian lying on the floor, her skin completely cracked. A breeze came in from outside, and with it the stone and Lillian turned to dust. She was dead. It was over.

With a frantic gasp, she looked over and saw Cat Noir passed out. From her distance she couldn't tell if he was alive or not. She grabbed the hair dryer and cast the Miraculous Ladybug spell. She had hoped that it would bring him back to normal, but it didn't work like that. The Miraculous Ladybug spell only worked on repairing the damage done by akumas and whatever destruction their powers made. Lillian didn't fall into either of those categories.

Ladybug ran over to Cat Noir. She bit back tears as she knelt down next to him. He was so still. She gently turned him over onto his back. Her fingers touched something wet and slick. Blood. There was a cut on his head from where he hit it. She bent her head over his chest and was so thankful to hear his heart beating. His ring beep. He had less than a minute.

"Cat Noir?" she asked in a strangled whisper. "Adrien?" She hoped using his real name would cause him to respond. She brushed back his hair, hoping the familiar movement would wake him up. His eyes remained closed.

His ring beeped one last time and the transformation left him. His hair flew up a bit as the magic swirled up revealing the young blond boy she had completely fallen in love with. Plagg landed on Adrien's chest and placed a paw on his charge, but he didn't say a word.

"Spots off," she whispered, not wanting to wait for it to wear off. Tikki flew out of the earring and just stared down at him.

"Oh, Adrien," Tikki said softly.

Marinette put her hands on Adrien's colorless cheeks. "Adrien!" she cried. "Please! Please, wake up!" She felt her tears starting to well up. Marinette looked up at her Kwami with wide, pleading eyes. "Tikki, please tell me you can do something!"

Tikki looked at her charge sadly. The Kwami desperately wanted to say that she could help, but there was only so much they could. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I…" Tikki couldn't continue. The look on Marinette's face broke her heart.

Tikki looked over Marinette's shoulder as she heard footsteps come into the room. It was Alya and Nino. They ran until they were just a few feet away, and they stopped when saw Adrien lying on unconscious.

"Oh my gosh," Nino breathed.

"What's going on?" Alya asked.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Marinette said shakily, desperately trying to control herself. She was on the verge of breaking down into sobs. Her breath came in rasps. "He… he got hurt."

Alya placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder as she knelt down next to her. Marinette barely noticed Alya typing in the emergency number for an ambulance. It was like she had cotton in her ears. She knew that Alya was speaking, but it sounded muffled, unimportant. Adrien still wasn't waking up. Within a few minutes the EMTs had arrived. Marinette stood back while they did their job. She watched with a heavy heart as they put him onto a stretcher and loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

* * *

A week had passed since Lillian was defeated, but it didn't feel like it to Marinette. She had barely left Adrien's side since he was brought in. He was lying in the hospital bed, looking half dead, but still alive. He was ghostly pale. His skin about as white as the sheets he was lying on. His hair was limp and lifeless. There was an oxygen tube placed under his nose and looped back around his ears. He hadn't moved in five days. The only movement that she had seen was the rise and fall of his chest.

Marinette was the only one left in the room who was still conscious. His aunt had left a few minutes before to get some coffee. Her parents had gone with her. They had asked if Marinette wanted to come, but she steadfastly refused. She could barely leave his side, not when he could wake up at any moment. A couple days after he was admitted, her parents forced her to go back to school. She hated being away from him. She couldn't sit in a classroom learning useless things while Adrien lay unconscious in a hospital. Every free moment she had was in the hospital. She was on a first name basis with the nurses.

Tikki and Plagg were asleep in Marinette's school bag. She had been looking after the both of them. Plagg had been putting on a brave face, perhaps braver than her, but that Kwami was absolutely devastated. He had barely eaten during the past week, which truly revealed how upset he was. That Kwami never stopped eating. She knew that Plagg cared for Adrien, but she had no idea just how much.

After they had admitted Adrien, the police started asking questions about how he had gotten hurt. Marinette couldn't answer them, not without revealing their identities. Luckily, Alya and Nino had stepped in and told them an outlandish lie that thankfully they believed. Master Fu had taken care of the other side of the problem. Lillian was dead and the jewel was gone, but the sextant and disk still needed to be dealt. She had no idea what he was going to do with them, but it wasn't like they could be used to cause any harm.

Marinette brought one of the arm chairs closer to his bed side so she could hold his hand in hers. His skin was cold, almost ice, when compared to hers. She held his hand more tightly, hoping to give him back some warmth. It was odd to hold his hand and have it be colder than hers. Everything about him at the moment was abnormal. Normally he burned bright like the sun, but all that fire, all that light, was gone.

The doctor had said that he had hit his extremely hard. Marinette had asked why he wasn't waking up, and she had said that it was the brain's way of healing. The brain put itself into a coma so that it could heal the damage caused by trauma. The odds of him waking up were favorable, but they diminished each day he didn't. The doctor had even said that when he woke up there was a good chance would have some memory loss. Marinette flat-out refused to believe that. She could not imagine Adrien without his memories, without the knowledge of who he was. It was impossible. It just couldn't happen. He couldn't forget her and everything they had done to save Paris together. Adrien was a savior of Paris and of the world. Forgetting something like that was not allowed, not if she had anything to do with it.

She gripped his hand tighter. "Adrien, they say that you can hear us," she started saying in a whisper. "If you can, then please come back." Her voice broke on the last word. She started crying and it took all her strength to keep herself from being overcome with hysterics. "I came back for you; now you have to do the same for me. Adrien, please wake up. Paris needs you. Your aunt needs you.… _I_ need you. I've told you this before, and I'm not going to stop. I can't do this without you. We're a team. Please, for me, just wake up. Please wake up." Marinette let tears fall. She couldn't talk anymore; all she could do was cry. She bent over and folded her arms on the side of the bed. She rested her head on her arms and let the tears soak into the bedsheet.

"Of course, my lady," a raspy voice said from beside her.

Marinette lifted her head and wiped away the last of her tears. When her vision cleared she saw Adrien's wonderfully bright green eyes looking at her. They were paired with a small smile she knew and loved.

"Adrien?" she breathed. She was trying to comprehend what was happening. She could hardly believe it. Marinette reached up and placed a hand on his cheek, now flushed with color. Her thumb stroked his soft skin. Adrien reached up and placed his hand over hers. He was staring at her lovingly. He knew exactly who she was, and who he was.

"You're awake!" she cried. "I can't believe it!"

Without thinking, she climbed up on the bed and threw her arms around his body and hugged Adrien tightly. She started sobbing again but for a different reason this time. He reached up and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She sighed at the feeling of being in her arms again. A small part of her believed she would never feel it again.

"I thought I lost you," she sobbed.

"You could never lose me," he whispered. He had buried his head into her shoulder as they continued to embrace. "Cat's always find their way home."

Marinette started laughing through the tears. She pulled back and wiped away some more tears. He was giving her that stupid smile he always gave her when he told cat joke. She never thought she would miss it.

"I love you so much," she told him.

He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek. His thumb brushed away another tear that had fallen. "I love you, too."

"Adrien?" Plagg asked.

They turned their heads and saw both of their Kwamis floating in the air beside them. Without waiting for an answer the two Kwamis practically tackled Adrien as they flew up to him. Tikki nuzzled his cheek and Plagg basically flew himself against Adrien's chest, giving him as best of hug as he could.

Marinette started laughing again. She had never seen them so happy, especially Plagg.

"Plagg's been worried sick," Marinette said.

"I was not!" the black cat Kwami defended, letting go of Adrien.

"He wouldn't eat cheese," Marinette pointed out.

"I never knew you cared," Adrien said with a smile.

"Of course I care, Adrien," Plagg said, dropping the façade completely. "I wouldn't bug you so much if I didn't." Adrien and Plagg shared a warm smile. Those two were weirdly suited for each other.

The hospital door opened and in came their families. The Kwamis quickly flew out of sight. Kathi almost dropped the coffee she was holding she was so surprised. She ran over to Adrien's side and pulled him into a hug. Marinette moved down to the end of the bed to give them some room.

"Adrien, we were so worried!" she exclaimed. She pulled back and stared down at him with a mix of worry and relief. "How could you let this happen?"

Adrien glanced at Marinette with a panicked look in his eye. She shrugged and shook her head slightly. She hadn't had time to tell him the official story of what happened.

"I… I don't remember," Adrien lied. It was a believable lie though. The doctors did say he could have memory loss.

"The police told us that you were attacked," Tom said as Sabine went over to hug him. "That they were wanting to get back at your father. You really don't remember?"

Adrien shook his head as Marinette's mother stepped back. "No. I don't know. How long has it been?"

"A week," Marinette answered. "It's been week."

"Wow," he breathed, falling back against the bed. That reaction was genuine. Adrien had no idea it had been that long. It felt like almost no time had passed for him.

Tom walked over to Adrien and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter now," Tom said comfortingly. "We're just glad you're back. We all are."

"Where are Nino and Alya?" Adrien asked.

Marinette said she would tell them, and within fifteen minutes the room had two more visitors.

The doctor assigned to take care of Adrien had gotten paged by one of the nurses that his vitals had improved. She finished up the paperwork she had been doing and made her way over to Adrien Agreste's room, saying hi to a few coworkers on her way. She turned and was about to step into her patient's room, but she stopped. The atmosphere in that room had been so dreary and bleak that it had weighed heavily on everyone. She recognized the young, dark haired girl that was his girlfriend, Marinette. The last time the doctor had seen her, her face was pinched and her eyes were weighed down with worry. Now, it was like an entire weight had lifted off her shoulders. Marinette was relaxed and smiling. She was sitting on the end of Adrien's bed, a bed that was no longer occupied by a pale, unconscious figure. He had woken up. His eyes were bright and his cheeks were pink. The color had returned to his skin. Just the sight of him caused the entire room to brighten. The doctor recognized the boy's aunt. She was sitting on the edge of the bed next to him, looking about ten years younger. The doctor also recognized the couple standing off to the side. Considering her resemblance to Marinette, she could only assume they were the parents of the boy's girlfriend.

This time though, there two newcomers she hadn't seen before, a boy and a girl, both about his age. The boys did a fist bump and she immediately knew they were Adrien's friends. The doctor had to smile at the scene before her. During her time as a doctor, she had seen a wide variety of families in hospital rooms, but there was something about this one that was different. She couldn't figure out why, but she just knew that this was not a moment that needed to be interrupted by her. She could come back later. Just before she turned to walk away, she saw two tiny little figures, one red and one black, dart from a hiding place under the bed to an inconspicuous spot beside Adrien's pillow. Her jaw dropped slightly. The two tiny figures noticed her staring, gave the doctor a small nod, and flew out of sight. The doctor had no idea what she had seen, but the only explanation was that it was miraculous.

The End


End file.
